JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 goodnewsmag.org

Leading United Methodists to a Faithful Future

GOD’S ROYAL FAMILY

God is birthing a new Methodist Movement, page 14

JF20-CL.indd 1 6/16/21 10:46 AM JF20-CL.indd 2 6/16/21 10:46 AM Contents

Essentials Features

2 Editorial 10 God’s royal family It’s time to move on Bob Kaylor expounds on our destiny within God’s royal family. 4 Light of the world 21 Jesus saves 6 News from United Methodism Kenneth Levingston preaches on his U.S. dips below majority membership; steadfast faith in the resurrection. Hispanic growth trends up The Rev. Bob Kaylor 24 Jesus, more than a friend speaks at the WCA Global 8 Mortals & the Divine Nako Kellum explains her journey Gathering, page 10. Christ on the wrist from Shintoism to Christianity and discovering a God closer than a friend. 42 Missionary God Max A. Wilkins on the variety of ways the 28 Me, a theologian? church can reflect God’s missionary heart. Cara Nicklas makes the case that all Christians are called to be theologians. 44 Wouldn’t it be nice... BJ Funk on the legacy of the infectious 32 Raising the dead in church kindness of Mr. Rogers. Shane Bishop exhorts United Methodists to step out in faith with the Holy Spirit. The Rev. Nako Kellum, page 24. News & Analysis 35 Witness to the world Delegates to the Wesleyan Covenant Association Legislative Assembly 14 God is birthing a new Methodist affirmed a statement on social witness. movement Keith Boyette lays out a vision for a new 36 Wither Sunday school? Methodist movement at the Wesleyan Donald Haynes explains the decline of Covenant Association Global Gathering. Sunday school within Methodism.

18 Turning point 38 Rekindling language of the soul William J. Abraham spells out the unique for kids distinction of this time in Wesleyan history. Justus Hunter on teaching children

about God. The Rev. Shane Bishop, 40 U.S. Regional Conference: Defeated page 32. All profile photos idea revisited “Give me one hundred preachers who on this page taken by Mark Moore. Thomas Lambrecht makes the case fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing against a U.S. Regional Conference. but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.” – John Wesley

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JF20-CL.indd 1 6/16/21 10:46 AM Rob Renfroe [email protected] Editorial IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON It’s time. General Conference 2020 will convene in just over It’s time to redefine “winning.” In the past a “win” for tradi- four months. It’s time for a definitive solution to our differenc- tionalists was keeping the Book of Discipline true to Scripture es over the authority of Scripture, marriage, and sexual ethics. and finding a way to make the bishops enforce it. A win for progressives was changing the church’s sexual ethics so that It’s time for General Conference to admit we can no longer be pastors could marry gay couples and practicing gay persons one church. Fortunately, most of us are now willing to admit could be ordained and appointed to serve local churches. “Cen- this sad truth. There are still a few – primarily bishops, bureau- trists,” I believe, thought of winning as making enough room crats, and institutionalists – who are unwilling to acknowledge for all views and practices – and to do so in such a way that what the rest of us know to be true. Like Rip Van Winkle, wak- their churches would not be disrupted by these issues or have ing up from a twenty-year slumber during which he missed the to vote on which sexual ethic to adopt. American Revolution, they seem to have slept through nearly fifty years of debate and the destructive vitriol of St. Louis. So, It’s time to admit the ways we have defined winning in the past they offer an outdated regional conference solution that leaders has kept us embroiled in an ugly and destructive battle. Each of all theological perspectives have said is a non-starter. group has believed their views are true to the will of God. So, they have reasoned, it is only right that they fight to control the But most of us are willing to admit we are not one and no plan future of the church and create a denomination that embraces can keep us together. UM-Forward, a leading progressive cau- their beliefs. cus within the UM Church, has proposed legislation that would dissolve the denomination and create four new churches. The After fifty years of fighting to win the church, where are we? At UMC Next Plan, the work of primarily centrist leaders, pro- a place where the church has lost. The UM Church in the U.S. poses liberalizing the denomination’s sexual ethics and allow- has declined precipitously in membership, attendance, and fi- ing traditionalists to leave. What’s known as “The Indianapolis nances throughout this debate, and even more rapidly since the Plan,” put together by a coalition of progressives, centrists, and special General Conference last February. St. Louis presented traditionalists, calls for a respectful and amicable separation us in the worst light possible to lost people needing the love of and the fair distribution of the denomination’s assets. God and the blessings of Wesleyan Christianity. Great work is being done by local congregations, but the UM Church is not It’s time to admit we are not one church. Instead of attempting winning. to hold us together by coercion, trust clauses, or out-of-touch plans that deny the reality of our differences, it’s time to admit As long ago as 2004, Dr. William Hinson called upon United we cannot be true to ourselves and walk with each other. Most Methodists to admit the truth that we would never be united of us are now willing to acknowledge this reality. and proposed that the best solution was amicable separation. Castigated, condemned, and misrepresented, Hinson believed

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JF20-CL.indd 2 6/16/21 10:46 AM After fifty years of fighting to win the church, where are we? At a place where the church has lost.

United Methodists would win not by fighting the same battle ops are held accountable for their actions primarily by other over and over again (which is exactly what we have done) but bishops in their particular jurisdiction. This means that liberal by setting each other free to pursue ministry in the ways we bishops are answerable to other liberal bishops who applaud believe God would have us do. their disobedience and often share in it. A glaring example is a Western Jurisdiction bishop who is married to another woman It’s time to admit that a win for United Methodists is not one and boasted of performing more than 50 same-sex weddings. side out-voting or excommunicating the other. This is what In spite of a Judicial Council ruling stating that it was unlawful the UMC Next Plan would do. It creates winners and losers. to consecrate her, she remains in office. Centrists win and stay. Progressives win and can stay. Together they keep the spoils – the name and the assets of the church. It is frustrating for traditionalists to be in the majority and for Traditionalists lose and must leave – on terms dictated by the our views and the laws of the church to be so easily disregard- “winners.” ed. But that’s reality and so is the fact that despite our greatly outnumbering progressives and “centrists,” we will never have But the UM Church wins only if there is a negotiated, respect- the votes to elect orthodox bishops in the more liberal jurisdic- ful separation which allows annual conferences and local tions. Consequently, the disobedience of pastors, annual con- churches to choose what direction their ministry will follow. ferences, and bishops in these areas will continue with no real This is what the Indianapolis Plan proposes – an amicable solu- consequences. tion agreed upon before General Conference that is fair to all. No repeat of St. Louis, no winners or losers, no side getting its It’s time to admit that it’s time, past time, to move on. Fighting way at the expense of others or forcing its will upon those with the same battle the same way will produce the same results – whom they disagree. Power politics is not a win for the UM anger, dysfunction and a church that is focused on itself rather Church, and it’s not the way of Jesus. than its mission. It’s time to stop denying reality and devising plans that act as if we are not irrevocably divided. It’s time to It’s time to admit reality. Actually, a couple of realities. One is admit that we are not one church. It’s time to stop trying to win that the vast majority of United Methodists are traditionalists. by outvoting the other side. In a UMCOM survey of U.S. United Methodists nearly half of those responding identified themselves as traditionalists – It’s time to trust God. We should do all we can to negotiate a many more than those who defined themselves as centrist or plan that gives each segment of the church a fair portion of the progressive. Today more than half of all United Methodists live general church assets, particularly ensuring the continued cru- outside of the United States. And no one disputes that the vast cial support for annual conferences and ministries in Africa, majority, probably 90 percent, of non-U.S. United Methodists Europe, and the Philippines. But whatever happens, we will be are traditional. stronger, more focused on our mission, and more effective in making disciples of Jesus Christ when this battle is over. We do But there is another reality we need to admit. Evangelicals have not believe our future will be determined by getting all that is little chance of forcing U.S. bishops to enforce the church’s rightfully ours. We trust that God’s grace will be sufficient for prohibitions on marrying and ordaining gay persons. In many those who seek him, honor his work, and commit themselves geographical areas of the country so many evangelicals have to doing his will. It’s time to trust God and step into a faithful left the denomination, that pastors and congregations – and future. the bishops they elect – are predominantly progressive. Bish-

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JF20-CL.indd 3 6/16/21 10:46 AM “Every birth is a threshold in which what has been invisible becomes visible,” writes artist Scott Erickson. “And the light of visibility is what illuminates this world. ‘In him was life, and that life was the light of all humanity. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ Which begs us to ask, ‘Where do we come from? And why are we given this light of incarnation? And where are we to illuminate?’ Because when we finally embrace that light, it can never be overcome” (scottericksonart.com).

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JF20-CL.indd 4 6/16/21 10:46 AM Leading Follow us on: United Methodists to a Faithful Future

January/February 2020 • Volume 53, Number 4 Publisher Rob Renfroe Art Director [email protected] Jaime DiNoia Editor in Chief [email protected] Steve Beard Offi ce Administrator [email protected] Ginny Brooks Vice President [email protected] Thomas A. Lambrecht Director of Strategic Resources [email protected] Ralph Pauls Editorial Assistant [email protected] Courtney Lott Database Administrator [email protected] Valerie Zelada Founding Editor [email protected] Charles W. Keysor Renew Network Team Leader President & Publisher Emeritus Katy Kiser James V. Heidinger II [email protected]

The GOOD NEWS Board of Directors Ryan Barnett, Lorena, TX Leah Hidde-Gregory, Woodway, TX Tom Bentum, Gales Ferry, CT Bob Kaylor, Monument, CO John Beyers, LaGrange, GA Willa Kynard, Washington, DC Chris Bounds, Wilmore, KY William Mason, Tulsa, OK Dixie Brewster, Milton, KS Norma Morrison, Muscatine, IA Riley Case, Kokomo, IN Norman Neel, San Augustine, TX Beth Ann Cook, Logansport, IN Chuck Savage, Roswell, GA Carolyn Elias, Rogers, AR Branson Sheets, Winterville, NC Bequi Flores, Wichita, KS Helen Rhea Stumbo, Nicholasville, KY Sandra Gray, Nicholasville, KY Tom Thomas, Forest, VA Craig Green, Livingston, TN Richard Thompson, Bakersfi eld, CA John Grenfell III, St. Clair, MI Mike Walker, Dallas, TX Joy Griffi n, Carrollton, GA Mary White, Bryn Mawr, PA Jeff Harper, Greenville, OH Marianne Wright, Knoxville, TN

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JF20-CL.indd 5 6/16/21 10:46 AM NEWS FROM UNITED METHODISM

U.S. DIPS BELOW MAJORITY MEMBERSHIP; HISPANIC GROWTH TRENDS UP

deaths – people leaving The United Methodist Church for the church triumphant.

However, starting in 2014, he said, the overall drop has exceed- ed the number of funerals. U.S. worship attendance also has been shrinking as a percentage of overall membership for the past decade.

Dunn noted that United Methodist numbers are in keeping with overall U.S. religious trends. In October, Pew Research Center reported losses across Christian groups while showing the religiously unaffiliated rising to more than a quarter of U.S. adults. Baptism at Christ’s Foundry Fellowship in Dallas. Photo courtesy of Christ’s Foundry Fellowship. Even with shrinking U.S. rolls, The United Methodist Church is still the country’s third largest denomination – behind the By Heather Hahn Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention.

The U.S.’s majority status in The United Methodist Church is The most recent data GCFA actually has on hand is the U.S. coming to an end – and may be there already. That’s according membership and attendance figures for 2018. Unequal infra- to projections from the denomination’s General Council on Fi- structure and technology typically mean that membership re- nance and Administration – based on the continuing decline ports are usually out of sync between the U.S. and the rest of in U.S. membership as much as growth in Africa. the globe.

According to the agency’s forecast, total membership in the On its website, umdata.org, the agency reports the U.S. church central conferences – church regions in Africa, the Philippines had just under 6.7 million members at the end of 2018 — down and Europe – will exceed that of the U.S. jurisdictions in 2020. from about 6.8 million in 2017. In the U.S., average weekly at- tendance was under 2.5 million in 2018, a decline of about 3.6 “Based on trends that have occurred over the last several years, percent from the previous year. we are annually averaging a decline of 2.0 percent overall for the jurisdictional membership,” Kevin Dunn, the agency’s The agency’s most recent data for the central conferences is director of data services, told the GCFA board at its Novem- from 2017, when the denomination counted more than 6.4 mil- ber meeting. “We may fall below 6 million (U.S.) members by lion members in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines. That’s up 2025.” from about 5.7 million members in 2015.

It’s a significant development for a church whose governance However, the central conference total comes with an asterisk. and history have both helped shape and been shaped by the On its data services website, GCFA notes that the 2017 num- United States, where the denomination got its start in 1784. bers reflect the most recent submitted. Where conferences have Dunn said the U.S. decline has largely resulted from members’

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JF20-CL.indd 6 6/16/21 10:46 AM not reported any new data, the agency carries over numbers from previous reporting.

The story of the church in the U.S. is not strictly one of decline. “We have some good news,” Dunn said. “Our Hispanic and multiracial growth has consistently been trending upwards 2 percent to 3 percent (a year) in each category.” Between 2009 and 2018, the number of U.S. members identifying as multi- racial increased from 45,955 to 68,029. In the same period, the number of Hispanic United Methodists has grown from 68,088 to 80,968.

The predominantly Hispanic Christ’s Foundry Fellowship in Dallas is an example of that growth. The North Texas Confer- ence decided more than 10 years ago to plant a congregation in Family Fun Night at Christ’s Foundry Fellowship in Dallas. Photo a growing Latino neighborhood. The congregation that began courtesy of Christ’s Foundry Fellowship. as a small group worshipping in various locations has grown to What about General Conference? 166 members and 228 in average weekly attendance. Membership plays a large role in determining how many dele- gates each annual conference can send to General Conference, The Rev. Lucia “Lucy” French, the congregation’s associate pas- the denomination’s top lawmaking body. The Book of Disci- tor, attributed the congregation’s growth to several programs pline outlines a statistical formula for delegation size based the church instituted early on. These include small groups, a on the number of clergy and professing lay members of each worker association to help people find employment and Family annual conference. Each annual conference must have a mini- Wednesday — Miercoles de Familias — a time for children’s mum of one lay and one clergy delegate. However, the latest fig- choir, youth group, parenting classes and marriage instruc- ures from the General Council on Finance and Administration tion. French, who came to Dallas from Quito, Ecuador in 2006, will not be reflected in the composition of next year’s General found her calling as a pastor by leading the Wednesday night Conference. programs. The Rev. Gary Graves, General Conference secretary, deter- “Everything that has happened in the growth and development mined the size of each annual conference’s delegation in 2017, at Christ’s Foundry has been the result of many collaborators, based on data in the most recent annual conference journals each bringing their unique strengths, resources, talents, and submitted to GCFA. dedication to the effort,” she said, with interpretation from her husband, John. Of the 862 delegates in 2020, 55.9 percent will be from the U.S., 32 percent from Africa, 6 percent from the Philippines, Christ’s Foundry, which now has a building to call its own, is 4.6 percent from Europe and the remainder from concordat also now taking a lead role in the North Texas Conference’s churches that have close ties to The United Methodist Church. response to recent tornadoes that wreaked havoc on the city. Compared to the 2019 special session, the U.S. will have fewer “The congregation of Christ’s Foundry has been and contin- delegates overall, while African delegations gain 18 and the ues to be blessed by the community, and has shown its ability Philippines two. and willingness to be a blessing to others in the community by living their faith,” the pastor said. “While head counts and budgets have their place, this is the best measure of success.” Heather Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Meth- odist News. Distributed by United Methodist News.

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JF20-CL.indd 7 6/16/21 10:46 AM MORTALS & THE

“As the Christians would say, I’ve surrendered over my life,” Burke said. “I do everything. I pray in the morning, I pray at DIVINE night, I read my Bible every day. … Now I’m waiting for mar- riage. I’ve been sober for almost two years.”

While church attendance numbers are not on the upswing for young men and women in her age demographic, Burke still de- tects a spiritual hunger. “I think people are looking for some- thing to believe in,” she said, “even if it’s just themselves.”

This observation dovetails with the message of David Zahl’s book Seculosity. While it may appear that our modern culture has abandoned ancient religion, perhaps it is more accurate to surmise that we have merely replaced one set of orthodoxies, rit- uals, and dogmas for another in the seemingly religious pursuit of career, parenting, technology, food, politics, and romance.

“Bombarded with poll results about declining levels of church attendance and belief in God, we assume that more and more people are abandoning faith and making their own meaning,” writes Zahl. What these polls actually tell us, he believes, is that “confidence in the religious narratives we’ve inherited has col- CHRIST ON lapsed. What they fail to report is that the marketplace in re- placement religion is booming. We may be sleeping in on Sunday mornings in greater numbers, but we’ve never been more pious. THE WRIST Religious observance hasn’t faded apace ‘secularization’ so much By Steve Beard as migrated....”

Her spiritual journey began by asking about a tattoo of Jesus on Zahl observes that “we fail to recognize that what we’re actually the wrist of a client. Aimee Burke cuts and styles hair in a hipster worshipping when we obsess over food or money or politics is neighborhood in Toronto. “She partied a lot and was partial to not the thing itself but how that thing makes us feel – if only for a coke,” reported The Globe and Mail, one of the largest newspa- moment. Our religion is that which we rely on not just for mean- pers in Canada. “Her hookups comprised partners both male ing or hope but enoughness.” Successful enough? Happy enough? and female. She was unhappy.” Thin enough? Desired enough? Perhaps, good enough?

The question about the image of Christ was the spark that got One of the cruel elements of the modern-day transfer of reli- Burke to visit church. “I’m pretty sure I went to the service hun- giousity is the inescapable absence of grace. After all, careerism, gover from the night before,” she recalled. But she found herself technology, and politics don’t appear to know how to speak the weeping during the service. “I just felt less empty,” she recalled. language of mercy, peace, and love.

Burke’s is an unconventional conversion story, especially “What makes Christianity a religion of grace, ultimately, is its splashed on the pages of a newspaper in a country where the essential revelation of a God who meets us in both our individual numbers of those who reject faith are on the rise. According to and collective sin with a love that knows no bounds, the kind of the news magazine Maclean’s, the percentage of Canadians re- love that lays down its life for its enemies,” writes Zahl. “Christi- jecting religion (26 percent) is nearly the number of those em- anity at its sustaining core is not a religion of good people getting bracing it (30 percent), with 45 percent saying they were “some- better, but of real people coping with their failure to be good.” where in between.”

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JF20-CL.indd 8 6/16/21 10:46 AM Aimee Burke told the newspaper that all the jokes about saying Hail Marys when she swears at work are worth it. “Th is is going to sound really Christian-y,” she said, “but it felt like the chains came off of me.” Burton em- Interestingly enough, that is the very imagery used in “And Can braced a faith It Be?,” the beloved hymn written by Charles Wesley in 1738. that “proclaimed a “Amazing love! How Can it be/ Th at thou, my God, should die sanctifi ed world, and a re- for me!” deemed one – an enchanted world, if you want to call it that – but one where meanings were concrete. It off ered me not just a sense For the world outside the four walls of our churches, the good of emotional intensity, but a direction in which to channel it. It news about faith in Jesus Christ is most notably not about the contained magic not for the sake of magic, but rather miracle for trappings and shortcomings and failures of church leaders, con- the sake of goodness. God died and came back from the dead not gregations, and ecclesiastical politics. Instead, it is exclusively because magic was real, but because love was stronger than an about the “amazing love” Wesley poetically addressed. unmagical world.”

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay / Fast bound in sin and nature’s Burton understands the diffi culty of stepping out in faith to night; / Th ine eye diff used a quick’ning ray, / I woke, the dun- those who live in uncertainty: “God was made man, and died, geon fl amed with light; / My chains fell off , my heart was free; / I and came back from the dead – which is an utterly absurd thing rose, went forth and followed Th ee.” to say if you are not Christian, and even if you are,” she wrote. Nevertheless, there is a compelling magnetism and spiritual al- Even wrapped in 18th century language, Wesley’s refrain refl ects lure to the ancient proclamation that Christ died, Christ rose, the heartfelt testimony of Christian believers around the globe. and that Christ will come again. Th e image of being unshackled universally resonates. “It is a story not just about the possibility of a world with mean- In an illuminating essay entitled, “I Spent Years Searching for ing in it, but a story about a world where the meaning is, quite Magic – I Found God Instead,” Dr. Tara Isabella Burton de- specifi cally, and utterly fully, love. It is a world that is predicated scribes a time in her life of wavering between being a Wiccan upon the love of a creator who has built a good world, and who and believing in nothingness, years not long ago “where the – when sin affl icts it – comes into that world, in all his vulner- world seemed too bereft of signifi cance to bother.” Dreamily, she ability, in all his mortality to save it. Love birthed the world; love longed for life to be more like a novel, a poem – something mi- redeems it; love sanctifi es it. Our very humanity, our very exis- raculous and with fl amboyant pizazz. “I wanted magic. Th e kind tence, is contingent upon it.” of magic that transforms. Frogs into princes. Women into trees. Loneliness into poetry.” In a diff erent era, it was Charles Wesley’s duty and gift as the poet to describe the Christ-centered liberation of the soul. “No con- As a student and travel-writer, Burton scrambled frantically demnation now I dread; / Jesus, and all in Him is mine! / Alive from one exotic wanderlust destination to another, experiment- in Him, my living Head, / And clothed in ing with fl eeting romances, red wine, and tarot cards. “I wanted righteousness divine, / Bold I approach to outrun the Nothing,” she wrote for Catapult. “Th ere was noth- th’eternal throne, / And claim the crown, ing I would not have sacrifi ced.... I hit bottom, in a thousand dif- through Christ my own.” ferent ways, and got what I wanted, in a thousand more....” Strangely, it all kind of connects if you saw One day, she stopped running. “I found myself sitting eyes down- the face of Jesus on a wrist in a hair salon. cast in a midtown church with stained glass windows and Gothic Second chances at life work like that. arches and incense and magnifi cent voices proclaiming the glory of whatever poetry was pointing toward.” Steve Beard is the editor of Good News.

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JF20-CL.indd 9 6/16/21 10:46 AM NEWSFEATURE ANALYSIS GOD’S ROYAL FAMILY

By Bob Kaylor little about my birth family. When I was a kid, I used to fan- I recently did one of those Ancestry DNA tests – you know, tasize that one day my birth family would discover me, and that test where you send in a small capsule of your spit and $100 that they would somehow actually be a royal family that had and they send you back a multi-page, full-color profile that tells misplaced me. I dreamed that they would take me back to Scot- you who’s been swimming in your personal gene pool. It used land (where I always imagined I was from) and set me up with to be that if you had a striking physical resemblance to one of the castle in the highlands that I had inherited, where I would your parents or grandparents that people would say that you spend my days ordering servants around while gnawing on were their “spitting image.” Who knew that we would one day huge turkey legs and guzzling goblets of chocolate milk. Such use actual spit to found out why? were the dreams of an exiled, secretly royal 8 year-old!

When I took the test I was hoping to find out a little more about Like many people who do these DNA tests, I was hoping to dis- my own background. I was adopted as an infant and knew very cover something interesting, if not royal, in my genetic make-

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JF20-CL.indd 10 6/16/21 10:46 AM up. Alas, however, while I am 28 percent Scottish, my DNA is arduous task that only one other guy in the youth group and I not of the royal sort. It is the Scots-Irish DNA of poor Presbyte- actually did it. The other kids were apparently into other things rians who left the isles in the 1740s and hacked a life out of the like “dating” and “having fun.” frontier woods of western Pennsylvania. The first question of the Catechism is the one that I still re- But there’s a little more to my DNA than that. A few years be- member most vividly. “Question: What is the chief end of man? fore I took the Ancestry test, I contacted the agency that han- Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Then again, dled my adoption. A sympathetic caseworker actually contact- I think there is another reason this question and answer has ed my birth mother, who was still alive. While my birth mother stuck with me. It’s always been a reminder to me, as a child didn’t want contact with me (I was still, apparently, a family who was born out misconduct and mistake, that it’s not where secret), she did give the caseworker some of the story. At age you start that matters, it’s where you end. The “chief end” or 24, she had me in a Salvation Army hospital in Pittsburgh. She the “chief purpose” of being human doesn’t depend on the had become pregnant after a brief but passionate affair with circumstances of your birth, the quality of your upbringing, a young man – not unusual. I was the result of that mistake. or whatever is in your DNA. Instead, it’s about finding your What was unusual, however, was that my biological father was identity, your glory, in glorifying God and enjoying an eternal an officer in the Army – the Salvation Army – a clergyman in relationship with him. the Wesleyan tradition. It took a moment, but then it hit me: I am the result of clergy misconduct. The catechism invites us to remember that being truly human is about being part of a story that began long before you and I had already been pastoring for a couple of decades when I were born. It’s the story that transcends all of our stories, I found this out. The good news is that I seem to have been whether they are tragic or triumphant, and gives each of our wired all along to be a pastor, despite taking various detours stories meaning and purpose. And when we learn that story, in my life like ten years as an infantry officer in the Army. I when we live that story, we come to know that our existence was meant to do this. Then again, I also have the wiring to be isn’t a mistake. Indeed, we are shocked to learn that all of us a very bad pastor. The dual nature of that reality is something – every one of us – is, indeed, actually part of a royal family! that I think about all the time. It causes me to be mindful and vigilant. It keeps me connected to two other pastors in a weekly This the foundational truth that the Bible expresses at the very band meeting. I want to live the best part of my wiring while beginning of the story: “Then God said, ‘Let us make human- avoiding the worst. kind in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and of the birds of the air, My story is not unique. In every one of us is the genetic wiring, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, the spiritual wiring, to be people who reflect the image of God. and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So We were created that way. But we also have the potential to God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he reflect a different image, a different identity, which is grounded created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26- in brokenness and sin. Understanding the image of God for 27). which we were created, profiling our original spiritual DNA, is the key to living an abundant life that glorifies God. In the world of the ancient Near East in which Genesis 1 was written, kings and pharaohs were often referred to as the “im- My adoptive family was of the same DNA mix as me and age” of a particular god – the human embodiment of that god, thus staunchly Presbyterian. And it wasn’t just a Presbyterian who ruled in the place of that god. The “image” was invested in church we attended, it was a really Presbyterian church – like, the king alone. Often there was a temple with the king’s image Shiite Presbyterian. It was a church that took doctrine serious- in it in the form of a statue, a concrete symbol of the god’s reign ly (for which I am grateful). When I was in 9th grade, for exam- through the king. ple, I went through confirmation where we had to memorize the entire Westminster Shorter Catechism and then explain it In that context, Genesis 1 is a bold statement declaring that in our own words in front of the church elders. It was such an

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JF20-CL.indd 11 6/16/21 10:46 AM there is one Creator God whose image is invested not in a sin- of what God intended for us, which is the very definition of gular king, but in all of humanity – both male and female – who sin. Sin clouds our ability to know who we really are; it strips are to be concrete, embodied symbols and stewards of God’s us of our royalty; it enslaves us to being ruled by things that reign on the earth. It’s not a matter of birth or one’s family tree, make good servants but terrible masters – things like money, it’s a gift of the creator. Humans were made to be royalty. sex, power. It puts us at war with our bodies; it makes our eyes wander, our hearing selective, and our speech self-serving. It Psalm 8 reflects this reality. “You have made [human beings] a binds us to our past mistakes. In fact, sin convinces us that we little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor” are a mistake. (v. 5). John Wesley called this the “political” image of God in humanity – a vocation to be “the governor of this lower world” This is the situation in which we find ourselves: We all have the (his sermon, The New Birth). royal image of God and royal vocation of God in our DNA – and we all have the potential to be really bad at it. As Wesley But while there is a “political” nature to the image of God, there put it more succinctly: We were created able to stand, but liable is also a “moral” image, which Wesley found to be even more to fall. compelling. It’s the image of “righteousness and true holiness,” the moral characteristics of the Creator God himself. Humans The image of God fades in the biblical narrative after the open- were not merely to reign; they were to reign as a reflection of ing chapters of Genesis. But then, powerfully and unexpectedly God’s character and glory. They were, in other words, to bear in the New Testament, the image reappears. This time, how- a family resemblance to God. One of the explanations for the ever, it is not just a human being made in the image of God, it is origins of the term “spitting image” is that it’s a mashup of say- a human being who is the image of God. He is the crystal-clear ing “spirit and image” together quickly. Spirit ‘n image: spitting image that replaces and reboots the image that was marred image. We were made to be spitting images of God. in Adam and distorted in us. The New Testament writers an- nounce his arrival: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, But it’s a quick trip from the glory and spitting image of Gen- the firstborn over all creation,” says Paul in Colossians 1. “For esis 1 and 2 on to the unraveling of God’s image in Genesis 3. in him all things were created: things visible and invisible … The snake showed up and convinced the archetypical humans He is before all things and in him all things hold together.” “For that they could be more than the image of God they were cre- us and for our salvation,” says the Creed, “he came down from ated to be – that they could be gods themselves. This was a lie, heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary of course, but they were hooked. They grasped at determining and became truly human.” The perfect image of God was em- the knowledge of good and evil for themselves and, instantly, bedded from the beginning of creation – the model for human- they were dethroned. Instead of ruling God’s creation as kings ity – revealed at the right time in the person of Jesus Christ. and queens in a fellowship of equals, they instead began com- paring themselves and sought to rule over one another. Instead As the perfect image of God, Christ completes the original of having dominion over the earth, they are ruled by the fall- royal vocation of humanity and, at the same time, reveals what en creation’s resistance to their efforts. Instead of stewarding true humanity, what real royalty looks like. In the great hymn God’s kingdom, they begin to build their own. Instead of liv- in Philippians 2, Paul proclaims that Jesus did not consider ing a royal life in the castle garden God had created for them, that royal image of God something to be grasped or exploited they found themselves to be spiritual paupers, hungry exiles but humbled himself and took the form of an obedient servant, in a strange land hacking their existence out of the hostile and walking the way of perfect submission all the way to the pain unforgiving soil. of the cross. He shows humanity who they were intended to be – servant kings and queens – and then, through the cross and This is the story that the Old Testament tells. It is a story in resurrection, frees them from the slavery of sin and death so which the image of God in humanity fades quickly, replaced by that they can live that royal vocation. He offers that new life, a a constant battle with idolatry. This is the image of God turned new birth, a new name, a new identity, a royal vocation, a place inward. It’s the story of mistaken identity; of missing the mark in the family, a community of love. When we receive him, we

12 | Good News

JF20-CL.indd 12 6/16/21 10:46 AM We have a theology of new birth that doesn’t leave us as infants but invites us to grow up and claim the identity for which God has made us.

discover the family from which we have long been estranged. – royal authority delegated from King Jesus to his royal rep- We receive a new birth story. “To all who received him, who resentatives. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, believed on his name,” says John, “he gave power to become baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and children of God who were born, not of blood, or of the will of of the Holy Spirit” – proclaim new birth, leading to a new fam- the flesh or of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). ily, in the model of God’s own family, the Trinity. “And teach- ing them to obey everything I have commanded you” – give In other words, when we receive him, we share a common them a new vocation. “And remember, I am with you always, to new birth no matter how we came into the world, no matter the end of the age” – a Christ-empowered movement, leading what the DNA test says about us. Our lives become restarted, toward a new creation! renewed, and rewired. The long-lost exiles become part of his royal family again. We were created by him, through him, and One of Ancestry’s slogans is, “Everyone has a fascinating story. for him. As Paul puts it in Romans 8:29, we were “predestined We’ll help you find yours.” Well, our goal is to help everyone to be conformed to the image of [God’s] Son.” This is true hu- find themselves in the story. My story doesn’t begin in a Salva- manity. This is our true identity. This is the goal, the chief end tion Army hospital in Pittsburgh. It began at creation. So does for which Christ has come – that we might glorify God as his yours. And this is the good news we need to share with the royal created image once again. To put it another way, Jesus world: You are not a mistake; you were made to be the spitting became like us so that we might become like him. image of God! You are not your title, your career, your degrees, your desires, your preferences, your sins, your past, or your This is the foundational aim of Methodism, the “one thing present. Friends, you are royalty. Your destiny has always been needful” according to Wesley. Renewal in the image of God to be a part of the royal family of God. This is the good news is the goal of sanctification, the means of grace, the aim of we proclaim to all those who wrestle with their identity, who preaching, the work of the Spirit. We have a theology of new think they are a mistake: the king has been looking for you, lost birth that doesn’t leave us as infants but invites us to grow up though you may have been, to give you a royal inheritance of and claim the identity for which God has made us. Our theol- abundant, eternal life. ogy is not so much about where we begin as where we end as the result of God’s grace and the work of the Spirit. We are all It’s the kind of news that calls for a celebration. Turkey legs and adopted children growing up together in that grace. We band chocolate milk for everyone! Better yet, how about bread and together to remind one another who we are and to name the wine? That’s the sort of feast prepared for real royalty by the false identities we take on, the sins that would bind us, and spur world’s true king. one another on to perfection in Christ. Bob Kaylor is the pastor of Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church And we go forth to carry out our royal vocation. Think of the in Monument, Colorado. This article is adapted from his ad- Great Commission, for example, and notice how much it paral- dress to the Wesleyan Covenant Association gathering in Tulsa lels the vocation God gave humanity in Genesis 1: “All author- in November. ity in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” says Jesus

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JF20-CL.indd 13 6/16/21 10:46 AM NEWSNEWS ANALYSIS ANALYSIS NEWS & ANALYSIS GOD IS BIRTHING A NEW METHODIST MOVEMENT

The Rev. Keith Boyette, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, speaking at the WCA’s Global Gathering. Photo: Mark Moore.

What follows is an adaptation of the address the Rev. Keith Boy- Recently, the words of the prophet Isaiah have come alive for ette, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, delivered me as the prophet declared God’s message to a people who were at the WCA’s Global Gathering held at Asbury United Methodist traversing troubled times in their relationship with God. Isaiah Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, November 9, 2019. declares God’s message: “I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the I love the church. We are the body of Christ – poured out in the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. midst of a broken and troubled world to offer God’s love, his sal- Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them” (Isa- vation, and his transforming grace to each and every person to iah 42:16). Isaiah continues, “For I am about to do something become more and more like Jesus. In the words of Peter, we are new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a God’s very own possession so that we can show others the good- pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry ness of God who called us out of the darkness into his wonderful wasteland” (43:19). light. God is birthing a new Wesleyan movement – rekindling the fires God desires for the church – which he called into being – to be that burned in the hearts of those first Methodists who let no one, to be holy, to be catholic in the sense of serving all of his cre- social convention or obstacle stand in the way of their sharing ation, and to be apostolic. The Wesleyan Covenant Association the Gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone. There are fully embraces God’s call upon the church. three movements that are part of God birthing this new thing.

14 | Good News

JF20-CL.indd 14 6/16/21 10:46 AM God is rekindling the fires that burned in the hearts of those first Methodists who let no social convention or obstacle stand in the way of their sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone.

The first movement is extricating the new thing from the document between now and the holding of a convening confer- old. As it became apparent that The United Methodist Church ence for a new church. Once again, it is a work in progress. Our was being rent asunder by irreconcilable differences, the Wes- goal is to help a convening conference to move forward deliber- leyan Covenant Association has worked to ensure traditionalist ately and expeditiously in creating a healthy and vibrant church. churches will be able to move from the UM Church to what is next with the resources with which God has blessed them. We envision a leaner, more nimble church which is not top heavy with an institutional bureaucracy that constrains rather than Therefore, the WCA supports the adoption of the Indianapolis liberates us to share the Good News. This new denomination Plan for Amicable Separation because it creates the best path will exist to serve local congregations – not for local congrega- for entirely separate groups of theologically aligned churches to tions to serve it. There will be no trust clause on the property of emerge from the UM Church. It will enable every church and churches. We want our movement to be a coalition of the will- clergyperson to be aligned with others who hold the same core ing, not the constrained. theological and ethical commitments. Every church will have an opportunity to decide about such alignment. Now, not later, is The structure of this new church will define broad parameters the season for leaders to prepare the local church for the future. for how local churches will be in connection with one another, To leaders: Educate your people. Define your mission. Draw but it will grant local churches maximum flexibility to organize closer to the Lord. Speak with boldness and love. Engage in the for and advance the ministry to which God has called them. conversations that are necessary. As a consequence, more of the tithes and offerings received by local churches will remain with them so they can deploy their The second movement is developing the new. As churches and resources for reaching the lost, feeding the hungry, and making clergy move from the old to the new, what will the new thing disciples. look like? The WCA believes the UM Church will come apart, either by an agreed plan of separation enacted by the 2020 Gen- This church will be served by a term-limited episcopacy, elected eral Conference or through local churches deciding to exit the by – and accountable to – the whole church, not just a college of denomination due to a never-ending cycle of conflict, inac- like-minded bishops. We intend for these episcopal leaders to be tion, and dysfunction. We are preparing for the launch of a new apostolic, to promote and defend the church’s teachings, and to Methodist church in the aftermath of GC2020. We see the WCA act with integrity as they fulfill their duties. as the bridge to this new church. We will provide a framework for churches and clergy to move to an interim expression of this We envision a church which has laser-sharp focus on its mis- church under the auspices of the WCA. sion – to introduce people to Jesus and challenge each person to become his fully devoted follower – which will be our first and The November WCA assembly in Tulsa voted overwhelming to foremost priority. Each church will have the freedom to deter- commend a draft of the WCA’s “Book of Doctrines and Disci- mine how it fulfills this mission, and the expectation will be that pline.” This is a working document for local churches, laity, and every church will bear fruit – making disciples and developing clergy who long for a warm-hearted, mission driven expression them into disciple-makers. of Wesleyan Christianity. The WCA will continue to refine this

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JF20-CL.indd 15 6/16/21 10:46 AM We envision a church which has laser-sharp focus on its mission – to introduce people to Jesus and challenge each person to become his fully devoted follower – which will be our first and foremost priority.

We envision a church that finds its unity in Christ, and that is history of Christianity is the story of how God has used those fully committed to the great confessions of our faith that we whom the world regards as being foolish and weak to reach ever- know bring well-being and wholeness to us, both individually increasing numbers of people for Jesus. and corporately. We truly believe a tenacious commitment to the church universal’s core teachings and beliefs will enable us to Our hearts are broken for those who do not yet know Jesus or identify and deploy faithful, energetic, and effective clergy who who are indifferent to who he is and what he has done for us. are dedicated and excited about practicing, teaching, and pro- We have no reason to exist apart from the mission of sharing claiming Scriptural Christianity. the Gospel with our neighbors – all of them without exception – globally. The preeminent priority in a new Methodist church Just as in the early days of the Methodist movement, we envision will be revitalizing existing churches so they become vital, vi- a church that empowers and releases laity to be leaders of the brant missional outposts bearing fruit in God’s kingdom, and church. We affirm the priesthood of all believers! In ever more planting vital, vibrant new churches that advance the historic diverse and secular cultures, laity will increasingly find them- Christian faith in the Wesleyan tradition, especially in commu- selves on the frontlines of the church’s great mission to share the nities where the historic Methodist witness is not present. Some Good News with grace and truth. To our great embarrassment, of this will occur through the multiplication of existing churches we seem to forget laity are absolutely essential to the church. It as they open new sites of their church and the expansion of on- is time for each lay person to take their place as persons whom line worshiping communities. This will occur as the Holy Spirit God has called, gifted, and deployed both within and beyond moves through individuals and local churches which reclaim the church. their first love of Jesus, which are broken by the desperate needs which he brings to their attention, and which take initiative not Following Christ is not a spectator sport. Jesus reminds us that limited by institutional restrictions and efforts to control and the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Yet Jesus has pro- micro-manage such initiatives. As a new church, we want to em- vided workers sufficient for the task in response to our prayers. power, embrace, and unleash such initiatives. We need to get out of the way and release that which God has already called forth. A strength of Methodism in its most fruitful season was ensur- ing followers of Jesus were connected to small groups where they The third movement involves our seeing the future that God could celebrate God’s activity in their lives, confess their sins to has for this new church he is calling into being. Here are some one another, seek God’s face, and discover how God was em- signposts which we see pointing to where God wants to take us. powering them to live out the Christian faith in all of its aspects with authenticity. Unless we reclaim this imperative of disci- God wants every person to encounter Jesus, enter into relation- pling people in community and equipping them to be disciples ship with him, and receive the salvation which he alone provides. who make disciples, our branch of the church universal will con- We repent of the lack of fruit produced by a significant part of tinue to be weak and anemic. We envision vibrant accountability Methodist churches worldwide, especially in the United States. groups in each and every local church. We cannot talk about being a world-changing movement when our branch of the body of Christ is in precipitous decline. The John Wesley declared, “The world is my parish.” That has nev-

16 | Good News

JF20-CL.indd 16 6/16/21 10:46 AM er been truer for the people called Methodists than in our day. We are part of a global community. We are called to be a global church. Already God is doing something new, linking togeth- er parts of the Wesleyan family of churches around the globe who share the theological commitments of the Wesleyan Cov- enant Association. Part of our vision for the new church God is birthing is for a church that enables significant global missional partnerships. We are committed to developing and deploying effective partnerships for local churches to be in ministry with one another globally across geographic boundaries to advance the Kingdom of God and reach people of diverse cultures with the love of Jesus. Missiologists tell us that one of the largest mis- sion fields for the church is in the United States where more than 180,000,000 are unmoored spiritually.

Methodism has always had a focus on the poor and marginal- ized. We come by that naturally as that is the heart of our God, reflected in the life and ministry of Jesus. We dream of a church which effectively responds to its calling to be in ministry with the poor, marginalized, addicted, and recovering. Our pursuit of holiness must include being in community with those who have been abandoned by the systems of this world.

We are committed to addressing the challenge for local churches in reaching teens, shepherding them through the transition to adulthood, and engaging those who are navigating further edu- cation or entering the workforce so that they continue as com- mitted Christ-followers. We desire to empower local churches to be more effective in their ministry with young people and young Participants at the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Global Gather- adults. ing worshipped together, heard uplifting messages, and participated in Holy Communion. Photos: Mark Moore. The Bible tells us that at the culmination of history every nation and tribe and people and language will gather around the throne of our God to worship Him. Yet God desires that his church to his sovereignty. God is looking for a people who joyfully increasingly embody that reality here and now. We envision a proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. God is looking for a church which deals transparently with the sins of racism and people who will be desperately dependent upon the empowering prejudice that are still present in our lives today and which in- presence of the Holy Spirit. creasingly ensures that when we gather, we experience the wor- ship God calls us to with the presence of the full diversity of the On that people God will pour out His rich blessings, and he will communities where we live and serve. use them to reach all nations, races, and peoples with the Good News of Jesus Christ. When we are fully committed to that great We are a people in need of healing. We do not trust some of our vision, in God’s good time, he will claim us as part of his one present leaders. We are suspicious and wary of anything that has holy catholic and apostolic church. Let us dare to believe He is the slightest hint of what we have endured for too long. Yet this bringing that reality to pass in our day. is a catalytic moment. God is doing something new. We are not doing the new thing; God is! Keith Boyette is a United Methodist clergyperson and the presi- dent of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. God is looking for a people who will be radically surrendered

January/February 2020 | 17

JF20-CL.indd 17 6/16/21 10:46 AM NEWSNEWS ANALYSIS ANALYSIS NEWS & ANALYSIS TURNING POINT

The Rev. Dr. William J. Abraham speaks at the Fourth Global Gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Photo: Mark Moore.

By William J. Abraham There’s going to be a church that’s built on non-rational means of persuasion. It’s a church that will be built on individual per- We are at a crucial turning point in our culture, but also in the sonalities and even rock star public personas and a church that history of the Wesleyan church. We are at an absolutely crucial will be built on the shifting sand of post secular experience and turning point in the history of the Methodist tradition. We now cultural proclivities. face a clear choice. Sometimes things are presented in strict ei- ther/or alternatives. The Lord did this when he said there was a I do not want to be part of a church like that. Here’s an alterna- “broad way” and a “narrow way.” tive. A church that is built on our Lord’s teaching on marriage – and the vision that informs it. A church that will be built on The broad way is straightforward. There’s going to be a church respect for canon law, for corporate discipline, and for civility that is built on sex and gender. There’s going to be a church built towards our critics and our enemies. It’s a church that will be on rebellion against the policies and practices of the church. built on rational, respectful means of persuasion. It’s a church

18 | Good News

JF20-CL.indd 18 6/16/21 10:46 AM that will be built on hard consensus in conferencing and think- interpretation. And then you develop a set of buckets or what- ing and speaking and arguing together like they did in Acts 15. ever set of images you’ve got. And it’s a church that will be built on the rock of divine rev- elation in the scriptures and the reliably annunciated material Here is where we must stand firm. When God speaks to us given in the great creeds of the church, especially the Apostle’s in Scripture, God is not incompetent. When he says “yes,” we Creed and the Nicene Creed. understand it. When he says “no,” we can understand it. And otherwise we’ve got a totally incompetent deity. We have a God This is a stark and inescapable choice for United Methodists as who didn’t make us in such a way we can hear him and under- we move forward. stand him, and when he speaks to us in his word, he can’t get through to us. That’s not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus We are unapologetically intending a fresh start for the people Christ. And that’s why we’re not intimidated by claims about called Methodist across the world. This is not simply a parochial relativism of interpretation. North American matter. We are a global church and we are in- terested in a fresh start for a global version of Methodism that’s God is not incompetent. He’s spoken to us and we’re going to built on Scripture and on the creeds. stand by the revelation that’s given in Scripture. And we’ll be immersed in Scripture to be all God wants us to be. What’s the primary task of Scripture? According to 2 Timothy 2:16, it is to make us wise unto salvation and to enable us to Now, the place of the creeds has been more controversial. Why come and be all God wants us to be in the life of the church. It’s do the creeds exist? Why did the great shapers and framers of there to form us, to change us, to transform us. And that’s why the creeds bring them into existence? Just as they developed a there’s such magnificent diversity in Scripture. list of books, they developed a canon or list of doctrines. And those doctrines were straightforward. “I believe in God the Fa- Living a life of obedience will be a life of health and success in ther.” “I believe in God the Son.” Add bells and whistles, and the appropriate way. And we need the book of Job when our you got that in your head and you’ll not be fooled. You’ll not be children die and we face insoluble and difficult problems. In fooled by television. You’ll not be fooled by heretics. The creeds our everyday lives, we need Paul. And we need James. We need were developed in relationship to baptism. the synoptic material and the Gospel of John. We read it every week and preach it every Sunday because it makes us wise unto Read the gospels first. Read about Jesus first. Start thinking salvation. But one of the ways it makes us wise unto salvation is about what the good and life-giving Holy Spirit will do in your precisely that it gives us indispensable information about God life first, then you’ll be ready for the meaty summary of the tra- and about ourselves, about how to come to God, and what the dition. The goal was to provide crucial basic teaching for the future is going to be like. That is absolutely crucial information Church as a whole. It was our forebearers in the North Afri- that comes from God and is mediated through the scriptures. can Church that developed this material and we are indebted to them. Now, Wesley considered this in terms of a form of revelation. Revelation given solely in our conscience can be very, very wob- Here’s what went wrong when we lost the emphasis on the bly. And there’s revelation given in law and prophets. That helps creeds as a part of our doctrines. We became prey to the temp- direct our misdirected consciences. And the full magnificent tations of what I call Big “L” Liberal Protestantism. In the 19th revelation is given in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ risen century we lost our nerve on the deep faith of the church. In the from the dead and coming again in glory to clean up the mess 20th century, it became an open season. We borrowed and we which we occupy. begged and we stole anybody else’s theology out there.

When people talk about Scripture and divine revelation, it’s all By the time we came along in the 1960s, it was a zoo. And it was about interpretation: You’ve got your interpretation. I’ve got my an incredibly difficult period and it’s a miracle we have survived

January/February 2020 | 19

JF20-CL.indd 19 6/16/21 10:46 AM When God speaks to us in Scripture, God is not incompetent. When he says “yes,” we understand it. When he says “no,” we can understand it. And otherwise we’ve got a totally incompetent deity.

this long. The first reason for the importance of the creeds is we gan of the gospel ... Those aspects of her life that most perplex have to put those back in formally and clearly so we are abso- hankerers after ‘spiritual religion’ are due to the fact that she lutely secure in the core doctrines at the heart of the Christian proclaims, not a possibility of spiritual achievement, but a work faith and that are shared by Christians across the world, across of redemption wrought by the Son of God through human flesh space and time. and blood.”

Now, there’s a new objection that’s come against all this mate- “Again and again,” MacKinnon says, “we have seen the pres- rial. When I was trained, the objection to the deep truths of the sure of external circumstances upon individual members of the Christian faith was: It’s false, it’s irrational. How can you believe Church, who have held high office within her and have usually in that and science? been endowed with great personal gifts, a pressure with issues in individual demands that the Gospel of God be transformed into I spent a long time writing many boring books to defend all this a human philosophy. And it’s been the external organization of stuff. Now, the objection is: It’s not false, it’s poisonous. This the church, the character of the gospel, that has preserved its is bad for your health. These creeds have been put together by saving truths for Christ’s little ones. It is through the institu- people who are power-hungry and trying to impose their view tions” – practices, doctrines – “of the church that the gospel is of God and Christ on the whole of the church. This is a matter of preserved from the idiosyncrasies of its members.” the raw expression of power-hungry church leaders in second, third, and fourth, and fifth centuries. There are two key reasons why I think we have to take the creeds seriously. One, the absence of a formal commitment to This is just nonsense. This is appallingly bad history. Our North the creeds has left us vulnerable to persuasive attacks on the African hero, Augustine, my favorite theologian out of the early deep elements of the Christian faith and we need to correct that period, was a genius and churchman of the highest caliber. He mistake in the history of Methodism. was run out of his cathedral five times by the government, no less. And the second deep reason for this fabulous material is to pro- tect the sheep from the wolves. Who is going to protect little The point of the creed is not only to preserve the truth summary ones who will be eaten alive by church leaders and phony intel- that’s meaty and accessible, but also as protection of the church lectuals? Who will protect the little ones from all of that? against the elites. Scottish philosopher and theologian Donald MacKinnon has written, “The whole exterior framework of It is the deep structures, doctrines, sacraments, and life in the the Christian church is the poor man’s protection against the church and it’s crucial we be clear about the significance of tyranny of the wise who would rob him of the heritage of the Scripture and the creeds in the life of the church. We have our gospel.” That’s why you must have canon law and bishops who work cut out for us. What we need is a fresh outpouring of the can teach and bishops who know the faith and are not trying Holy Spirit. to abandon the faith. “In one sense, one might say, too, that her visible structure, her articulate doctrinal standards, her ordered William J. Abraham is the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wes- sacramental life, represents the very lashing of the Church her- ley Studies at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of self to her historical moorings.” Theology. This article is an adaptation of his presentation to the recent gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association in Tulsa, Let me continue with MacKinnon: “The whole church is an or- Oklahoma.

20 | Good News

JF20-CL.indd 20 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE JESUS SAVES

The Rev. Kenneth Levingston preaches at the Fourth Global Gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Photo: Mark Moore.

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good The resurrection is still true. The church in Corinth had a cul- News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and still tural issue and a church issue. Because the walls of the church stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you, if you con- are permeable, whatever is in the culture cannot be kept out of tinue to believe the message I told you – unless, of course, you be- the church. If we’re not careful, the teachings and the moorings lieved something that was never true in the first place. I passed on of the culture become the norms for the church, and Paul has to you what was most important and what had also been passed a church filled with everything going on in Corinth. Arrogant on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He people. People who believe they have a gift that no one else has; was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, that they have knowledge God hasn’t given anyone else. just as the Scriptures said.” – I Corinthians 15:1-4, NLT Earlier, Paul wrote, “I hear there’s divisions among you” (I Cor- This is the word of God for the people of God. inthians 11:18). In other words, You are fussing and arguing over who is a better preacher. Paul? Apollos? Listen, Apollos

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JF20-CL.indd 21 6/16/21 10:46 AM never saved you. Doesn’t matter who the preacher is as long as We have to let people know that no matter what the world Jesus is being preached. says about them, we have a God who redeems. When we pres- ent ourselves to God, God cleans from the inside out and offers Paul challenges the community with issues they raised to him – us eternal life. When you know that, it doesn’t matter what the about lawsuits and marriage and idols and food they could eat. world is doing. We stand in the power of the resurrection be- Sometimes we focus on the minor things and forget the major cause we know who God is and we know what God has done. things God’s called us to do. While we’re legislating, God is call- Jesus died for you. Jesus Christ died for my sins. He didn’t die ing people. Sometimes we fail miserably to listen to what God’s because I was nice and worthy and for me to live my best life called us to do and to preach the good news, the Gospel. It’s now. That isn’t worthy of the Savior. the good news of Jesus Christ who came to redeem us from our sins. It’s the good news that says to a shaken world that Jesus God loved us so much that he came down and died for me. That still saves. The blood still cleanses and the Holy Spirit empowers tells me I’m somebody. That tells me who I am. When you take and lost people can still be saved. We have a need to tell people that gospel message to people who are on the margins of this that story over and over again. world and you tell them God loves them where they are but God has something so much better for them, it will turn their lives I didn’t know God was telling me the story of redemption when inside out, upside down, and they can begin to live in the power I was eight years old. Raised by a single mom, I would pick up of God. soda bottles and you could take them to the store next door and you would get a nickel for the bottle. I figured out pretty quickly, We are in a church where there’s a large number who have there’s bottles everywhere. I would take the wagon and look in decided the Scripture is no longer Scripture, that it no longer the ditches and sometimes dig deep in the mud to find a bottle. means what it’s always meant from generation to generation. Most of the time they were broken and unusable. My brothers and sisters, we’re on the cusp of reclaiming the place where we lift Scripture high. We honor the word of God. Sometimes I would find them and they were filled with dirt When I don’t agree with Scripture, it doesn’t make Scripture and mud – but they were precious to me. I lined them up in my wrong. It makes me wrong. Because I can’t put my mind around wagon, but the store owner didn’t want unclean bottles. On the what Scripture says, doesn’t invalidate Scripture. It means I side of my house I had a hydrant and I would wash them and have growing up to do. get them clean and put water in until the dirt was softer and agi- tate it and I would do that until they were pristine and I would At the end of the day we want to follow what the Word of God take my two or three or four bottles and walk in the store. She says. In the Word there is life. In the Word there is power. In would ask how many I brought in. We would get a nickel for the Word there is healing. In the Word there is hope for a world each bottle. She gave me 15 cents or 25 cents – and cookies were that is broken. still two for a penny. I said, My goodness, we’re going to have a time in here today. “He was buried,” Paul writes in our text. I think he wants to make sure we don’t think about this metaphorically and al- Redemption occurred when I took something that seemed to legorically. Paul wants us to know he was buried, dead, dead. have no value to someone that valued it. Later on in life I could Not swooned or passed out or catatonic. He was dead, dead – see myself in those bottles. I could see myself on the side of the dropped over the shoulder of Joseph of Arimethea and put in road filled with my sin and brokenness and corruption and a tomb wrapped up and walked away from. He was dead. Rock meanness and evilness and someone saw something in me and put in front of the tomb. Nobody in. Nobody out. He was dead. began to tell me about a God who loved me and would clean me Paul wants us to know the only way to overcome death is by the up and shake me up and pour me out. power of the resurrection.

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JF20-CL.indd 22 6/16/21 10:46 AM If the resurrection is true – and I believe it to be true – then we have hope in this world. Not only was Jesus buried. He was raised on the third day. They kept him in the grave all night Friday. Not a sound, not a peep, all day Saturday. Weeping and mourning. But early on Sunday morning – before the rooster crowed and birds sung a hymn – Jesus already got up.

If the resurrection is true – and I believe it to be true – then will you do to me? How can you threaten me? You can hurt me we have hope in this world. Not only was Jesus buried. He was physically and talk about me – but you cannot touch my soul. raised on the third day. If it was Easter Sunday morning, this You can’t touch my heart. You can’t shake my faith. is what I would say to my congregation: They kept him in the grave all night Friday. Did you hear me? Not a sound, not a peep, I believe in the resurrection. My sisters and brothers, remember all day Saturday. Weeping and mourning. But early on Sunday what Paul said to the church in Rome: “nothing can ever sepa- morning – before the rooster crowed and birds sung a hymn, rate us from God’s love.” He wants you to know that “neither before Peter, James, and John got up and wiped sleep from their death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for eyes – Jesus already got up. On the third day he got up! today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” Here is a God who went into a tomb sealed on the outside – guards all around. Since he got up from the dead, since he’s up That’s why I’ve got joy. That’s why I believe in the resurrection. right now, it’s time for us to stand up, rise up and be the people God’s called us to be. The Rev. Kenneth Levingston is the senior pastor of Jones Memorial United Methodist Church in Houston. This article is Here’s the better news. He didn’t just do it for himself. If he died an adaptation of the closing sermon he delivered at the recent and rose again, he’s the first fruit. If he died we can die – and live Global Gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association in again. When you get rid of the fear of dying, what else do you Tulsa, Oklahoma. have to be afraid of in this world? If I know I’ll live forever what

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JF20-CL.indd 23 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE

According to the Japan Times, “a 2011 survey by research company Bridal Souken found that in the first several years of the new millennium, Christian-style weddings accounted for about two-thirds of Japanese unions, and currently a majority still prefer this type of ceremony over Shinto or secular ones.”

24 | Good News

JF20-CL.indd 24 6/16/21 10:46 AM JESUS, MORE THAN A FRIEND

By Nako Kellum Christianity. I knew about Jesus, but I did not know Jesus.

I am from Japan. Interestingly enough, Christians make up less I knew about God, too. than one percent of the entire Japanese population, yet, accord- ing to a recent article, more than 50 percent of Japanese couples Actually, I knew about a lot of “gods.” I prayed to and gave of- chose to have Christian weddings. The reasons for this are un- ferings to my ancestors, whom we believed achieved a god-like clear. Perhaps it is the atmosphere of the church, or the appeal of status after death. I went to Shinto shrines, and prayed and gave the traditional wedding gown to future brides. It should be noted money to many gods. Shintoism, as you may know, is an indig- that these Japanese weddings are officiated by Christian pastors, enous animistic religion of Japan. complete with hymns, prayers, and Scripture readings. I have been to a few of these, and I have discovered that there is a hymn During my senior year at university, a Christian friend of mine that is sung every time. It is, “What A Friend We Have in Jesus.” invited me to a Christmas concert that was sponsored by her campus ministry group. For the first time in my life, I heard the The hymn itself is not usually associated with weddings here in message from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he the United States, so I asked my friend – a professor at a Chris- gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will tian university in Japan – why he thought this hymn is used so not perish, but have eternal life.” For the first time in my life, I often. He said that the hymn is sung often at Christian schools in learned, and I believed, that God, who is the Creator, is real; I Japan – what we call “mission schools” – and people are familiar learned that I am created by him, that I am loved by him, and with it. that God gave his only Son Jesus for me, so that I can go back to him and live with him forever. It was the best thing I had ever Mission schools were started by foreign missionaries, and many heard! I decided to receive Jesus. Japanese send their children to these schools for the excellence in education that the schools provide. My professor friend went I wanted to know this God, to know Jesus more. I started read- on to explain to me that at the university where he works, they ing the New Testament Bible that was given to me at the concert. sing this hymn at convocation, as well as during graduation. I read through it like I would any other book, but what I found “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” came to Japan a little over a was that Jesus was not like any other “gods” I knew. The gods century ago. I think it is a great way to introduce Jesus to people I knew used to be humans. The gods I prayed to in the Shinto who have no idea who he is. shrines used to be emperors and leaders. (Some of them were not even humans!) My ancestors, whom we thought had achieved “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! / a “god-like” status, were merely human beings, just like I am. I Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? never once felt like those gods knew me, or cared for me. They / Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.” were not personal. I used to try to please my ancestors by giv- ing them food offerings on the household altar. I used to ask for Jesus is our friend. Jesus himself said it in John 15:14, “You are things at the Shinto shrine, like health, or victory at the next ar- my friends.” In my 8 year-old daughter’s words, Jesus is our BFF chery match, or the ability to do well at school, as if these “gods” – our Best Friend Forever. He is the best, the most faithful friend were vending machines. we can ever have. Sometimes we have to be reminded of that. However, Jesus is not like that at all. In fact, he is quite the oppo- I went to one of the “mission schools” in Tokyo called Aoyama site. He is God, but he became human. He lived among people, Gakuin University which was founded by Methodist missionar- healed people, and spoke about amazing things like forgiving ies in the 19th century. Having been brought up in a Buddhist one’s enemies. He confronted religious hypocrites, and put his family, with influences of Shintoism as well, I was not a Chris- own life on the cross for us. At last, I met a God who is so person- tian. I knew about Jesus from my world history classes in high al. He loves me and sacrificed himself for me; he is always with school. In the textbook, Jesus was introduced as the founder of me, and I can trust, and count on him. It is difficult to describe,

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JF20-CL.indd 25 6/16/21 10:46 AM For the first time in my life, I heard John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” For the first time in my life, I learned, and I believed, that God, who is the Creator, is real; that I am created by him, that I am loved by him, and that God gave his only Son Jesus for me, so that I can go back to him and live with him forever. It was the best thing I had ever heard!

but in the end, I felt like a heavy burden was lifted off of me. Kingdom and his righteousness.” She explained to me that as a Christian, we needed to live knowing Jesus as our Lord, and not Consequently, I understand how people were confused about just our Savior. This meant that to be in right relationship with who Jesus was, and why the Nicene Creed was written. At that Christ, we had to put our full trust in him, and that full trust was time, there was a pantheon of Roman and Greek gods in the cul- best expressed in obeying him. It was a pretty simple strategy as ture, just like there are a plethora of gods in Japan, but none of a new Christian, though it was not an easy way to for me to live them were like Jesus. Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light, daily. true God from true God.” “Through him, all things, including you and me, were made,” and “for us and for our salvation he The second half of John 15:14, after Jesus says, “You are my came down from heaven.” No other “god” did that for you. friends,” reads, “if you do what I command you.” When we con- fess in the Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only So, I started university as a Buddhist, and graduated as a Chris- Son, our Lord,” we are confessing that Jesus is more than our tian. After graduation, I started working as a flight attendant friend, as he is the Lord who has authority over us. “Jesus is Lord” that spring. But then, I got lost. I had to live close to the airport is actually one of the earliest creeds that Christians professed. so I was away from my church and away from my home. Sur- This was extremely counter-cultural at the time since it was not rounded by new people and immersed in a new job, I did not the Roman emperor whom Christians worshipped and obeyed know what it meant to live as a Christian. I knew that I would as “lord.” Instead, they confessed that their first and best loyalty live with Jesus forever, but what did it mean to follow Jesus in was to Jesus, not the emperor, and this was very dangerous. the here and now? Jesus is Lord and “sits at the right hand of the Father.” This means God was merciful and gave me a Christian co-worker, who took that he is above all “gods,” all rulers, all governments, all church- me to her church. I shared with the pastor that I felt like I was es, all people, all created things … everything we like, love, and lost, and I did not know what it meant to live my life as a Chris- cherish. We are called to put ourselves under his authority, and tian. The pastor shared with me Matthew 6:33, “Seek first his to be loyal to him, and him alone.

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JF20-CL.indd 26 6/16/21 10:46 AM During World War II, a faction of the Methodist Church in Ja- though, I did not order anything to drink. It was not because I pan tried to be loyal to both Jesus and the emperor. They merged thought I should not do so, but because I did not want to do so. with other churches and created one unified Protestant church. I did not want to drink at all! And this was in Germany, where One of the reasons was a true desire to be ecumenical, but a dark- there is plenty of good beer and wine. er reason was to cooperate with the government so that the gov- ernment could better control the Christian churches. The new If Jesus is just a friend, he would have sat with me at the beer church pledged that they were Christians and Japanese at the restaurant, drunk with me. But, because he is also my Lord, he same time. But, they also confessed that their first duty was to knew I needed to quit, and he wanted me to quit. And because be loyal to the Japanese Empire. A small faction of Methodists in he is my Savior, he delivered me from the desire to drink. It was the Holiness Movement, however, continued to teach and preach a good thing, because about a year and after this flight, He called about the Kingdom of God, and how the Lord would come back, me to go to a seminary where drinking was not allowed. He is and establish his Kingdom on this earth. They claimed that more than a friend who knows what is best for me, or a friend someday Jesus would rule all of the nations of the world, includ- who shows me the best way to live. Jesus has the power to change ing the Japanese Empire. They were a threat to the empire, so my life. many of the pastors and the leaders were put into prison, and some died there. In fact, one of the leaders put into prison was I cherish my human friends. One of my best friends lives in Ja- the founder of the denomination I belonged to in Japan. pan. We have been friends since seventh grade, and thanks to technology, we can talk to each other for free, and we can see My point is this: If Jesus is just our friend, it may not cost us that each other’s pictures on social media. But for me, there is noth- much, but there is a cost when we choose Jesus as Lord of all, ing better than actually seeing her in person and spending time and decide to live under his lordship. The Japanese Empire, as with her when I go back to Japan. I let her know as soon as I you know, lost the war, and it’s not the Empire any more. The get my plane ticket when I am going back, and we spend hours Emperor, who was considered to be divine, renounced his “di- together just talking. For me, Jesus is like this. I want to see him vinity” after the war. For you see, only the Lord Jesus sits on the face to face. I know Jesus feels the same way about us. Right now, throne forever. we cannot be face to face, but someday, he will come back and we will see him face to face. Where is your loyalty? We may not have to choose between an emperor and the Lord Jesus, but we have to choose between the When I do get to see Jesus, I want him to say to me directly, “I “empire of me,” and Jesus, every single day. I know I do. There love you, and I know you love me, too, because I know how you are certain things I do that the Lord wants me to stop doing, and lived.” I want to stand in front of him, look him in the eye, and there are certain things he wants me to do that I do not want to to be able to say without hesitation, “I love you, and I love your do. As a new Christian, I tried to be obedient to the Lord, and I lordship.” started learning to listen to him. For example, one of the things I knew the Lord wanted me to do at that time was to quit drink- The Nicene Creed says, “He will come again in glory to judge ing. As a flight attendant, it was part of the lifestyle. We would the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” Our arrive at the airport, go to the hotel, clean up, and drink together, friendship with Jesus will never end. It will only get stronger and so we could relax and sleep better in different time zones. And, deeper as we continue to love him by loving his lordship and we were encouraged to study about wine for work, so I was jus- submitting to him. tifying my drinking as “part of my job.” I am not saying alcohol consumption in and of itself is good or bad, but at that time in Jesus is more than my friend. He is my everything. He is my all my life, I knew the Lord wanted me to quit. I remember while in all. working on a flight from Tokyo to Munich, my co-worker who was studying to be a sommelier was teaching me about wine, Nako Kellum is co-pastor in charge at First United Method- which I found very interesting. I remember telling her I did not ist Church of Tarpon Springs in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This think I could ever quit drinking. Later, when we arrived in Mu- article is adapted from her address to the Wesleyan Covenant nich, we went to a well-known beer restaurant. To my surprise, Association gathering in Tulsa in November.

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JF20-CL.indd 27 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE ME, A THEOLOGIAN?

Cara Nicklas speaks at the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Global Gathering in Tulsa. Photo: Mark Moore.

By Cara Nicklas I spoke with my pastor about my idea. “We need Christian law- yers,” he told me. “I think you are doing what you need to be Several years ago, I contemplated giving up the practice of law doing.” That wasn’t the response I expected. Within a couple of to go into ministry. It’s not that I didn’t like dealing with my cli- months after that conversation, God led me to my present law ents. I just got frustrated with the judicial system and especially firm. During the first summer at the firm, the lawyers, along grew weary of dealing with other lawyers. Full-time ministry with several law students who clerked with our firm, met each just seemed like a more noble cause than being cussed out by week for a sort of book club. We read the book, Redeeming Law, my opposing counsel. by Michael Schutt. In his introduction, he writes: “we will ex-

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JF20-CL.indd 28 6/16/21 10:46 AM As Christians, the question is not whether we should or should not be theologians. If a broad definition of a “theologian” is “one who seeks to know God,” then each of us as Christians must be theologians. The critical question is, “Will we be the best theologians we can be given our circumstances, or will we evade the responsibility, and say, ‘That’s someone else’s job?’”

plore the potential for law … to be a ministry of good works ger have the luxury – if we ever did – to completely farm-out to those around us, a calling from God to love and serve our the critical work of being good theologians. We do not have neighbors with the skills and opportunities he has given us.” nearly enough theologians in our churches. And that shortfall Our book club explored how a career in law could be used to diminishes our effectiveness as disciples and ambassadors for grow in Christ and work for him – how we could be in ministry our Lord, Jesus Christ. to our clients and to the world. For the first time in my career, really, I began to think deeper about what it meant to integrate Many pastors think if they take a serious dive into theological my faith with my calling as a practicing lawyer. That meant matters in a sermon, they will lose the laity. In fact, some pas- thinking deeper about my own theology. tors are convinced laity are not even willing to wade into the theological waters with them. There’s some truth in their sup- Many people think doing theology is solely the work of pastors position. Laity are used to being entertained and amused, and and seminary professors – not laity. So, when we hear the word therefore we kind of unwittingly expect our pastors to do the “theologian,” we think of Drs. Billy Abraham, Sandra Richter, same. And in our consumer oriented culture, we’re not adverse or David Watson. The names of laity don’t come to mind. to church shopping until we find the pastor who’s the most en- tertaining. But as Christians, the question is not whether we should or should not be theologians. If a broad definition of a “theolo- But clergy, here’s the hard truth: You do have to find ways to gian” is “one who seeks to know God,” then each of us as Chris- hold our attention in a YouTube, Facebook, Twitter world. More tians must be theologians. The critical question is, “Will we be than ever we need you to work hard, very hard, to not only teach the best theologians we can be given our circumstances, or will us the timeless truths of our faith, but to equip us for sharing we evade the responsibility, and say, ‘That’s someone else’s job?’” them with others. Many of us laity don’t realize it or we’re afraid to admit it, but we are theologically malnourished. In a world that is increasingly “unchurched,” where in some quarters of our culture people are dismissive of our faith, and All of us, laity and clergy, have to do more than read and study in other quarters people are downright hostile to it, we no lon- the Bible; we also have to read and study Christian theology.

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JF20-CL.indd 29 6/16/21 10:46 AM We need to ask ourselves difficult questions because our friends, our work colleagues, our family members, and that curious little eight-year old girl in Sunday school, will ask us hard questions.

Theological study better informs our reading of Scripture. is predicated on our having done some serious thinking about Theological study will challenge us to think hard about the na- them ourselves. We cannot simply be “Bible quoters” who post ture of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. or “like” an occasional Bible verse to make a point. Bible quot- ers are given to tossing off a verse, or sometimes even less than a We will need to ask ourselves difficult questions because our verse, as an answer to a person’s genuine good theological ques- friends, our work colleagues, our family members, and that tion. And consequently, Bible quoters run the risk of doing more curious little eight-year old in the Sunday school class we vol- harm than good. For example, Bible quoters are given to quot- unteered to teach, will ask us hard questions. Some will ask ing the Scripture out of context, and so in an awkward attempt because they’re trying to challenge our faith, but most will ask to console someone they’ll say, “For everything there is a sea- because they’re genuinely searching to know more about God son,” or “God never gives you more than you can handle.” Their and want to be in relationship with Him. It simply will not do grieving friend is left to wonder, “Does God cause bad things to to respond to them by saying, “Well the Bible says it, I believe it, happen to me?” Or their work colleague is left thinking, “My and that settles it.” twenty-one-year old son’s drug addiction is killing him, and it’s breaking my heart. What I’m confronted with right now feels We should prepare ourselves to give thoughtful answers to the like far more than I can handle.” questions that are likely to come our way: What can we know about the Triune nature of God? Why do we believe it took Je- And then there are some Bible quoters who recite Scripture as sus’ death on the cross to liberate us from our slavery to sin and a way of absolving themselves and others of any responsibility fear of death? How do we discern the prompting of the Holy to act with Christian maturity and integrity. They’re the ones Spirit in our lives? Why do good people suffer? Why do some quick to remind us we are to “love our neighbors,” and to “judge prayers get answered and others don’t? not, lest we be judged.” They toss these verses off as if Jesus -in tended the church to be a community without good order and To be sure, all the theological study in the world won’t provide proper boundaries for how we love one another, and how we us with definitive answers to all hard questions. We do ulti- hold one another accountable for our actions. mately live by faith. However, we need to demonstrate to people that we take their questions seriously, very seriously. We have to Bible quoters can turn Scripture into simplistic clichés. They use help them see that many Christians – from St. Augustine to our it in a way that fails to speak a true word of grace and comfort, favorite Sunday school teachers – have wrestled with them. And or as a license to do as we please. Life is far more complicated while we might not have definitive answers to all their ques- than that, and life in the church, in the community of faith, is tions, we have very good partial answers that are drawn from far richer and deeper than tossing off Bible verses as self-help the treasure house of rich resources that our faithful ancestors clichés. have handed down to us. And answers that give us an assurance that our faith is not built on sand, but upon a sure foundation In a post-modern world where “the truth” is malleable, where that fills us with hope and trust that God is good, and is work- some people are cynical, where information (good and bad) ing his good will for us and for all creation. is found by a few clicks on a keyboard, and where people are lost and genuinely seeking, we need to be better theologians. Responding to sincere questions in helpful and effective ways When we think theologically about whether truth is relative, it

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JF20-CL.indd 30 6/16/21 10:46 AM impacts whether we view the Bible as just another inspirational with parents whose values lined up with ours. Throughout his book among other books on the shelf or a collection of writings upbringing, Evan and his friends held each other accountable. that reveals who God is and what he wants for us as his children. His friends and their parents living in Mayberry helped Evan If you know truth is found in the Bible, it impacts your daily grow and become confident as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Then walk with God and your witness in the world. Evan went to college. He no longer lived in Mayberry. As a bi- ology major, Evan had friends who did not share his beliefs. It is hard work, and yet also rewarding and faith building He began to engage in lots of conversations about Christian- work, to think theologically. For the sake of the church and the ity which required that he start thinking much deeper about church’s work in the world, we must do it. And yet many of us, why he believed what he believed. He would discuss with me particularly we laity who are often on the front lines every day, the points being made by his new friends and he would ask how can feel conflicted between the clear biblical mandate to share he might best respond. He might call and ask, “What do I say the Gospel and the cultural pressure not to offend, to keep our to those who suggest the Old Testament laws no longer apply?” faith private, and out of the public square. We can perpetuate or “How do I respond to someone who says it isn’t necessary to much of the misguided theology we hear in today’s culture and go to church to be a good Christian?” That required that I think in our own churches either through silence or by espousing a deeply about how to respond to the particular questions raised gospel message we think might be more attractive to the next by his friends. These were thoughtful, highly intelligent people generation. who had been raised in the church but had come to reject it. Trite answers to their questions would not suffice. We Christians must be a light in the world. We must proclaim the truth. We cannot keep the Gospel private. Discerning the That is the world we live in. Are we prepared for the Next Meth- truth is hard. Being a Christian theologian is inherently an end- odism where we will encounter more and more young people less and humbling task. We will never know all there is to know who question the need to attend church? Who question the about God. But the wonderful, marvelous, and awesome thing teachings they heard growing up in the church? Are we as a is that God invites us to know about him. He has graciously church allowing and even encouraging our children and youth revealed himself to us in Scripture as our Father, in the Word to ask challenging questions before they go off to college where made flesh, and through the empowering presence of the Holy they will surely begin to question their faith? It will take each Spirit. and every one of us to prepare ourselves to respond to such questions. Many people – from our bishops, to church officials, and to leaders of various advocacy groups – are coming to the pain- A good theologian is one who seeks to know God more inti- ful realization that there will be some kind of separation of mately. We don’t become theologians to merely win debates The United Methodist Church next year. In the near future, we with atheists; we want to be good theologians so we can lead who are called Traditionalists will no longer be able to tell our- people to Christ. selves other people are keeping us from being a healthy, vibrant branch of the church catholic. It will all be on us. We live in When you and I practice theology together, we consider the a time when there is heightened skeptism, cultural influence, wonder, the mystery, and the love of the One who Created us, and distrust and criticism of the church. We must become fully who Redeemed us, and who empowers us to be his joyful and equipped to be ambassadors of Christ in these changing times obedient disciples – proclaiming the Good News to a lost and and that necessarily requires us to think deeper theologically. hurting world.

My husband and I raised our sons in a small community on Cara Nicklas is a United Methodist layperson, a General Con- the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Our friends in the community ference delegate, and an attorney. This article is adapted from often refer to it as Mayberry – the fictional location of of the her address to the Wesleyan Covenant Association gathering in old Andy Griffith TV show. My younger son, Evan, especial- Tulsa in November. ly had an incredible group of core friends who were believers

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JF20-CL.indd 31 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE RAISING THE DEAD IN CHURCH

Original art by John Stushie.

By Shane Bishop and command her to walk in the name of Jesus.” This is the whole problem with reading the Bible. It puts ideas in your head I believe it happened in the springtime, sometime after Christ- and gets you in situations like this. In a split second I was right mas and before Easter. 1999. I don’t remember the specifics of in front of her. Would I obey God and possibly set a miracle into the “when” but I will never forget the “what” of this story. I ar- motion, or would I miss God and make a scene? At the moment rived at church about 9:30 through the front glass doors only to of truth, I held out my hand and said, “I’m Shane. I’m glad you see a woman in a wheel chair out the corner of my eye. I did not are here today.” recognize her so I went to my office to get things ready for the service. When I emerged about thirty minutes later, she was in It is a moment I will never forget. What if I really heard the voice the same spot. of God? What if she would have reached for my hand, received healing and went, “Running and leaping and praising God?” A quick glance verified that she was not in the chair to con- Perhaps I did the right thing. A vain imagination. Perhaps I valesce, but would probably be in that chair for the rest of her established that such a prompting was a waste of God’s time. life. As I approached to introduce myself, something welled up I will never know. But I did make a decision; it would never within me. Something in my spirit said, “Reach out your hand happen again. From that moment on, when I feel the Holy Spirit

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JF20-CL.indd 32 6/16/21 10:46 AM A failure to embrace the ministry of the Holy Spirit has produced a disconnect and a lack of firepower in the church today. Our current standard practice in church life does not even remotely resemble standard practice in the early church. The disciples didn’t refer people to medical professionals; they were healing the sick, raising the dead, curing those with leprosy, and casting out demons.

“prompts” I err on the side of boldness. Sometimes it feels risky, To my way of thinking, The United Methodist Church has a but nothing feels riskier to me these days than quenching the problem – and that problem is me. Revival never begins when Holy Spirit. “they” change; it begins when I change. The question is not where I stand on the issues but whether I am standing on holy A failure to embrace the ministry of the Holy Spirit has pro- ground. And if I am standing on holy ground, why are my shoes duced a disconnect and a lack of firepower in the church today. always on? The disconnect is that our current standard practice in church life does not even remotely resemble standard practice in the We may all agree on Biblical authority and theology but did we early church. The disciples didn’t refer people to medical pro- used to love God more than we do right now? I have no doubt fessionals; they were healing the sick, raising the dead, curing we feel fire in our bellies but is that fire the transforming Holy those with leprosy, and casting out demons. Spirit or the burning resentment we feel concerning what is go- ing on around us? The firepower has to do with orthodox theology. If we don’t be- lieve God can actually change people and we are not willing to Paul writes, “Fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you!” boldly pray for and celebrate such transformations, we are open and “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity” (v. to every single criticism the culture hurls at us. 7). Uncertainty breeds fear and fear breeds timidity. To fuel our Holy Spirit fire and to counter fear and timidity, God has given Paul writes from prison to people who are being relentlessly us three spiritual weapons: persecuted: “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For 1. Power is the supernatural ability to do what God asks us God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of pow- to do. God will never ask us to do what God will not empower er, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell oth- us to do. ers about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, 2. Love is the supernatural disposition God gives his children be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News” (II toward the world. We are not going to reach people for Jesus if Timothy 1:6-8, NLT). we think we are better than they are.

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JF20-CL.indd 33 6/16/21 10:46 AM 3. Self-discipline is supernaturally regulating our lives in We were praying three or four minutes – waiting for the ambu- God honoring ways. It can also be thought of as a sound or lance, praying that the ambulance would hurry up – and sud- steady mind. This is not time to baptize the Chicken Little in denly Norman loudly gasped and stood up. all of us and pretend he is a prophet; it is time to make prayer- ful and bold decisions that are congruent with our callings, our How do you really talk about an experience like that? How do understanding of Scripture and our mission. you explain it? Norman knew how to talk about that Sunday morning. For ten years of his life he said God raised him from Paul reminds us, “Never be ashamed to tell others about our the dead in church. I knew how the people in the New Testa- Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in ment would have talked about it. They would have said it was a prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to testimony to the power of God. suffer with me for the sake of the Good News” (v. 8). At Pen- tecost, the Holy Spirit gifted the church to proclaim the Good Last year I conducted Norman’s funeral. I felt like the preach- News of Jesus Christ. The Good News of Jesus hasn’t gotten er who conducted Lazarus first and second funerals. And it worse just because of the utter disarray of our denomination. prompted a question in me. Something of biblical proportions Whatever else we may be ashamed of, let us not be ashamed of almost certainly occurred in the life of this man. How could we our Lord! expect God to do great things if we’re not prepared to pray for them? If we’re not prepared to recognize them? And if we’re not In the aftermath of General Conference 2019, Christ Church is prepared to give God glory for them? And the answer is, we just down 10 percent across the board. Unless we have an incredible can’t. We must shift the narrative. last quarter, we will fail to grow for the first time in 23 years. I have lost church members; had friends walk away and have It is time to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and not our taken social media hits – some of them from people I once con- own strength. It is time to teach good theology rather than dis- sidered friends. This has been a discouraging time and I need parage bad theology. It is time to tell our story and not have our the strength of Christ every day. Sometimes like Elijah, I get story told for us. It is time for signs and wonders; not sighs and feeling sorry for myself and God simply says, “Stop it! You are whiners. It is time to boldly celebrate who we are, where we are embarrassing yourself. Do you have any idea of the price my going, and what God has called us to be! disciples have paid for their faith over the centuries? Shake off your fear and timidity; tap into power, love, and a sound mind The early church didn’t defend their faith to the larger culture, and get out there and proclaim the Gospel.” they just proclaimed the Gospel, saw lives utterly transformed, and let the Holy Spirit do the talking. When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, the early church began to walk in the realm of signs and wonders. I am some- “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who times asked why we don’t see more miracles today and my re- proceeds from the Father and the Son,” we affirm with the sponse is most clear: we don’t pray for them, we don’t recognize Nicene Creed. “With the Father and the Son He is worshipped them, and we don’t celebrate them. and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.”

Twelve years ago, I was preaching on a Sunday morning when Let’s be Holy Spirit filled and not fear filled. In the power of the all of a sudden an older gentleman by the name of Norman Holy Spirit, reach out your hand with me to a hemorrhaging clearly went through a horrible physical episode and finally he world and say with Peter, “Silver and gold have I none but such just stopped breathing. Right there in the sanctuary, he laid stiff. as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise There were two medical doctors in the pew with him. And after up and walk!” walking over they just shook their heads, no. I asked someone in the congregation to call an ambulance. Norman didn’t breathe Shane Bishop is a United Methodist clergyperson and evangelist. for about three minutes or so. I asked everyone to extend a hand He is the senior pastor of Christ Church in Fairview Heights, Il- in prayer. I didn’t really know what to do. So everybody just linois. This article is adapted from the address he delivered at the started praying. You could sense the power of the Holy Spirit. recent Global Gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association.

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JF20-CL.indd 34 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE WITNESS TO THE WORLD

how to “do good” and “do no harm” to all as we put our faith into practice. ...

We believe that the Christian faith calls us to recognize that all persons irrespective of their station or circumstances in life have been made in the image of God and must be treated with dignity, justice, and respect

We believe that life is a holy gift of God whose beginnings and endings are set by God, and that it is the particular duty of be- lievers to protect those who are powerless to protect themselves, At the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Legislative Assembly including the unborn. We believe human life begins at concep- in November held in Tulsa, delegates affirmed the first draft of tion and abortion ends a human life. the WCA’s proposed Book of Doctrines and Discipline. What follows are highlights of the segment on social witness. We believe that all should have the right to work without grind- ing toil, in safe conditions, and in situations in which there is no exploitation by others. We respect the right of workers to engage Since God first stirred the hearts of John and Charles Wesley to in collective bargaining to protect their welfare. We pray that feed the hungry, visit those in prison, oppose slavery, and care all should be allowed to freely follow their vocations, especially for those in need, Methodists have believed in joining hands those who work on the frontiers of truth and knowledge and and hearts in the service of God and others, following the words those who may enrich the lives of others with beauty and joy. of James 1.27 that the religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: “to look after orphans and widows We believe that all have been summoned to care for the earth in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the as our common home, stewarding its resources, sharing in its world.” We are convinced that faith if it is not accompanied by bounty, and exercising responsible consumption so that there action is dead (James 2.17) and that, as Jesus reminded us, when is enough for all. we do not do what is needed to care for the least of our sisters and brothers, we likewise have not done so for Christ either. We believe that human sexuality is a gift of God that is to be af- (Matthew 25.45) firmed as it is exercised within the legal and spiritual covenant of a loving and monogamous marriage between one man and It was in that spirit that the Methodist Episcopal Church be- one woman. ... came the first denomination in the world to adopt a formal So- cial Creed in 1908, spurred by the Social Gospel in response to We believe that children, whether through birth or adoption, the deplorable working conditions of millions. Though reflec- are a sacred gift to us from God, and we accept our responsibil- tive of its own time, the statement is still remarkably relevant ity to both protect and nurture the youngest among us, particu- even today, calling for, among other things, “equal rights and larly against such abuses as enforced child labor, involuntary complete justice for all men in all stations of life, principles of conscription, human trafficking, and other such practices in the conciliation and arbitration in industrial dissensions, abolition world. of child labor, the suppression of the ‘sweating system,’ a reduc- tion of the hours of labor to the lowest practical point, a release We believe that followers of God have been called to exercise from employment one day in seven, and for a living wage in self-control and holiness in their personal lives, generosity and every industry.” ... Our Social Witness represents a consensus kindness in their relations with others, and grace in all matters vision of what it means to be faithful disciples in a world that of life. remains in rebellion against its Creator, wracked by violence and unfettered greed. It is a summons to prayerfully consider The entire document can be found at WesleyanCovenant.org.

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JF20-CL.indd 35 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE WITHER SUNDAY SCHOOL?

A Sunday school class in 1946 at Community (Methodist) Church in Wheelwright, Kentucky. Photo: Russell Lee, National Archives.

By Donald W. Haynes rural areas, only Sunday school met every Lord’s Day. The Sun- The American Sunday School Union was organized in 1827. By day School Superintendent was usually the most influential lay the 1840’s churches across America were beginning to build leader in the church; he or she presided over the “assembly” that “wings” of classrooms for children and youth to be taught at the met before and after individual classes went to their respective church, replacing the catechism which based Christian nurture rooms. In The Methodist Church, by 1958, seven of every eight in the home – taught mostly by parents but also by the circuit professions of faith came through the Sunday school. riders when they made pastoral calls and interrogated the chil- dren on their mastery of the catechetical questions. In Meth- In 1957, LOOK magazine’s cover headline was “Sunday School: odism, Sunday school also replaced the Wesleyan styled “class The Most Wasted Hour of the Week?” The response was a fire- meeting” as the locus of both fellowship and biblical exhorting. storm of opposition, but the article was at least partially based on raw data from a survey of people who had attended Sunday Mainline Protestant church growth in the 20th century was school for at least ten years. They were asked a series of ba- primarily due to the influence and attendance of Sunday school. sic Bible-content questions and were found to be embarrass- As the context of evangelizing or bringing youth to affirming ingly biblically illiterate. Ten years later, Sunday school in the Jesus Christ as personal savior, the Sunday school had replaced more theologically liberal denominations began a precipitous the revival. In most non-liturgical churches, Sunday school at- free fall. The so called “mainline” denominations made a num- tendance was considerably higher than worship attendance. In ber of knee-jerk efforts to stop the ebbing tide, but “Humpty churches where pastors had more than one church, primarily in Dumpty” could not be “be put together again.”

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JF20-CL.indd 36 6/16/21 10:46 AM By 2018, thousands of churches have literally no children in Both Vincent and Haygood became bishops and helped shape Sunday school. The only attendance left in those churches is in Methodism for relevance in a changing culture. Their succes- older adult classes. In many, perhaps most, independent church sor was George Albert Coe, a disciple of John Dewey of Co- “plants,” there is no Sunday school at all, especially for adults. lumbia University, the “father” of progressive education in the public schools of America. Coe was the virtual “czar” of Meth- First of all, why did this happen? For at least one documented odist Sunday school theology for the first third of the 20th cen- answer, we must look at the largest denominational “combo” tury. He wrote, “The goal of Christian nurture thus becomes in America in the 1880’s – The Methodist Churches, north and the growth of the young toward and into mature and efficient south. “John Vincent and his southern counterpart, Atticus devotion to the democracy of God and happy self realization.” Haygood, led Methodism in the post Civil War era to see the Sunday School…effecting the conversion or transformation for For decades, professionals trained to be Christian educators which Methodism had looked to revivals,” reported the super- were called “Directors of Religious Education,” not “Direc- lative historian Russell Richey. tors of Christian Education.” H. Shelton Smith, professor at Duke Divinity School, wrote a book in 1940 that should have John Vincent was the General Agent of the Methodist Episco- shocked the Christian Education world, but it was basically ig- pal Sunday School Union and “wrote the script” for the replace- nored. In Faith and Nurture, Smith wrote, “The closing years of ment of the revival with the Sunday school. J. Lyman Hurlbut’s the 19th century reveal a marked trend in liberal circles toward The Story of the Bible, and Vincent’s “Uniform Sunday School a reduced Christology. The Christ of Sunday School became an Lesson” shifted the premise of conversion from an identifiable historic Galilean, the supreme educator, the master teacher.” experience of saving grace to an embrace of the insights of the Dean Inge, professor of divinity at Cambridge and Dean of St new social sciences – psychology and sociology. Paul’s Cathedral, wrote in the 20th century, “Contemporary liberalism as a creed is basically outmoded and must therefore In 1882, Vincent wrote The Revival After the Revival. In it, he be critically reconsidered and revised.” interpreted his parents’ evangelical theology as the “morbid, self-centered religion of my childhood.” He saw sin as a “habit Sunday school editors continued to write morality maxims, that could be bleached out of a person by right associations.” sentimentalized Bible stories, and selected psalms and epistle He considered “being saved” as a selfish concept, making one excerpts. The Sunday school, according to the famous LOOK “safe from the world and guaranteed a home in heaven.” Con- cover article in 1957 had become “the only school in the world sequently, every piece of Methodist Sunday school curriculum that was not a school.” was a bland form of Christianity – Old Testament biographical narratives, a portrait of Jesus as “gentle, meek, and mild”; and Therefore, when the Baby Boomers became adults in the 1960’s, the embrace of conventional cultural morality. There was no they saw no value in going to Sunday school or taking their mention of the atonement, Pentecost, or experiential grace. children in the way their parents took them. For one thing, they could recall very little that they had learned. For another, Meanwhile in southern Methodism, Atticus Haygood was the what they did learn seemed irrelevant to the generation of a counterpart of John Vincent. He was appointed in 1870 as edi- sexual revolution and the Vietnam War. Gradually, slow ero- tor in chief of all Methodist Episcopal, South, Sunday school sion became a landslide and Sunday school’s Achilles’ Heel in- curriculum. The lesson was a benign moralism to teach chil- fected and affected the whole dimension of Christian nurture. dren to be good boys and girls. The biblical content was a ro- manticized story of Nativity, no mention of atonement, origi- Donald W. Haynes is a retired United Methodist clergyperson nal sin, or the work of the Holy Spirit, and narrowly selected from the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, author, Epistle passages. His biographer wrote that Haygood “under- and adjunct professor of United Methodist Studies at Hood went a deconversion” from his inherited Wesleyan, Arminian Theological Seminary. faith.

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JF20-CL.indd 37 6/16/21 10:46 AM FEATURE REKINDLING LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL FOR KIDS

By Justus Hunter ing spaces in the history of Christianity. And my generation fled.

I loved Sunday school. The gray-haired ladies corralled us into Methodism’s relationship to Sunday school has always been am- small rooms lined with hand-me-down toys. A flannelgraph bivalent. Many argue the rise of the Sunday schools was a sign easel occupied one corner, a sentry threatening our chaos with of Methodist decline. They prioritized intellect over heart. They order. We learned Bible stories and hokey songs and how to keep fueled our move from revivalism into the mainline. They ripped our hands to ourselves. out the heart of Methodism: discipleship through societies, classes, and bands. My children will never know that Sunday school. I haven’t been in a church with a dedicated Sunday school hour in decades. At John Wesley’s structured small groups – societies, classes, and some point churches decided kids would stick around easier if bands – were remarkably successful. They spread Scriptural ho- you buy new toys every now and then. And if kids stick, parents liness across the land. But Wesley stood in a different position stick. than we do today. He inherited a tradition in fine doctrinal shape. The doctrine of the Church of England was well-established. He Or so we thought. We built the most playful and accommodat- worked for spiritual renewal in line with sound doctrine. What

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JF20-CL.indd 38 6/16/21 10:46 AM about us? Our experiments with doctrinal pluralism have left us just want them to know a set of teachings. We want them to un- doctrinally awash. We will always need spiritual renewal. But derstand. We don’t just want them to tell us that Jesus is fully di- now we also need doctrinal renewal. vine. We want them to find ways to live lives that testify to Jesus’s divinity. If my argument holds, then spiritual renewal through classes and bands and reemerging revivalism may be necessary, but they will Charles Wesley, praying for children, asked God to “unite the not be sufficient. We also have to address our doctrinal indiffer- two so long disjoined, knowledge and vital piety.” The two go ence. We need a thickening of doctrine and tradition. And this together. Dull piety is marked by a lack of knowledge. It substi- will require significant effort at recovery, both of clear and essen- tutes pious sentiment for true understanding. Methodist classes tial teaching and of those methods whereby the church shapes were so formative because they gave early Methodists a common lives by that teaching. We need doctrine and we need to propa- language of the soul. And that language was grounded in John gate it. Wesley’s teaching on the way of salvation. Early Methodists, in societies, classes, and bands, learned a way to speak the language This suggests we may need Sunday school now more than ever. of the soul, and learning that language allowed them to grow As my generation left the church, those of us who stuck around deeper in the faith. are more and more concerned that our kids understand the faith we’ve held. Now more than ever, Christians young and old need Methodist Sunday school, if it is to recover the Wesleyan heri- to learn who they are. Toward that end, here are a few thoughts tage, needs to be a space for recoupling. If your Sunday school on what we might do with Sunday school, or whatever Christian classes are only about knowledge, complement them with vital education program has replaced it by now. piety. And watch for the warning sign of sentimentalism. You may have neither knowledge nor vital piety, and will need to 1. Teach them their history. Many nights I read from Plutarch’s work on both. Lives to my sons. Plutarch’s vignettes of the heroes of Greece and Rome have shaped character for centuries, and for good reason. 3. Love order like Wesley. One thing is certain: Sunday school Plutarch is a relentless, perceptive analyst of character. Tales of isn’t necessary for the propagation the gospel. Sunday school the people who shaped and sustained our places, help us make is less than 300 years old, and the form you and I remember is sense of who we are. They’re the kinds of stories we turn to when significantly younger than that. It was an answer to a question life gets confusing. We were made for heroes. We need examples. American Methodists once asked. It was a similar question to And if the church isn’t supplying them, someone else will. the ones Wesley asked, and the one we ask. How do we propagate this faith? How do we nourish it in us and pass it on to others? Bible stories have been the backbone of Sunday school classes for all ages. Stories of Abraham and David and Esther and Christ John Wesley was a master of order. His theological contributions will always work. But so will the stories of Perpetua and Felicity, were all in the doctrine of grace. He understood and explained or John and Charles Wesley. Adding to the Bible stories is impor- the way of salvation, that path we pilgrims tread on the way to tant. Stories of the great saints of our faith give a sense of perma- our heavenly home. His genius was chiefly in organizing mean- nence. They remind us that the Spirit remains alive and active in ingful methods for each stage of that journey, indeed every stage the church. They remind us that our God is with us. of that journey. He was wise about the way to holiness.

So keep the Bible stories. But find more. Tell them about the I don’t know if Sunday school is salvageable in your context. But great saints of the Christian heritage. Tell them about the great I know that if we neglect to develop orderly structures for dis- saints of your church. Tell them about the faithful who planted it. cipleship, structures that renew spiritually and doctrinally, then Tell them about the missionaries it sent. Tell them. we risk another generation. The stakes are high. But we have an ideal example. 2. Nourish faith while growing understanding. When we teach confirmation, we plan for a lot of information transfer. We want Justus Hunter is assistant professor of church history at United our kids to learn about the Trinity, who Jesus is, what the church Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. is about, the sacraments, and the hope of heaven. But we don’t

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JF20-CL.indd 39 6/16/21 10:46 AM NEWSNEWS ANALYSIS ANALYSIS NEWS & ANALYSIS U.S. REGIONAL CONFERENCE: DEFEATED IDEA REVISITED

By Thomas Lambrecht

In the aftermath of the highly contentious General Conference The original reasoning behind the proposal was to allow U.S. last February in St. Louis, many ideas have surfaced as a way to delegates to act on matters that pertain only to the U.S. church. attempt to resolve the conflict dividing our church. The prime example is the pension program for U.S. pastors and professional staff. There are also some resolutions on political or One of these ideas is a proposal from the denomination’s Con- moral issues that pertain to conditions in the U.S. It has been nectional Table to create the United States portion of the church asked: Why should delegates from outside the U.S. be forced to as its own Regional Conference, allowing it to make changes to sit through arcane discussions about provisions that do not per- the Book of Discipline as it relates specifically to churches here in tain to them? the U.S. The church constitution already gives the central confer- ences outside the U.S. the ability to “make such rules and regula- More recently, however, some progressives and centrists have at- tions for the administration of the work within their boundaries tached themselves to this proposal as a way to provide for the including such changes and adaptations of the General Disci- U.S. delegates to change the standards in the U.S. to allow clergy pline as the conditions in the respective areas may require.” The to perform same-sex weddings and for practicing gays and lesbi- new proposal wants to give the U.S. part of the church author- ans to be ordained. That way, conservative African UM churches ity to make the same “changes and adaptations” that the central could keep the current restrictions on such practices, while they conferences may. are allowed in the U.S.

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JF20-CL.indd 40 6/16/21 10:46 AM This is actually not a new idea. A similar proposal was passed proponents have produced no evidence of such a saving. There by the 2008 General Conference in response to the report of the has been no analysis of the petitions and resolutions proposed at World Wide Nature of the Church study committee. While the previous General Conferences to determine how many of them constitutional amendments needed to implement such a propos- would actually be able to be dealt with by only U.S. delegates. al passed General Conference by more than the requisite two- There has been no analysis of the time spent in legislative com- thirds vote, it failed to be ratified by the members of the annual mittees or in plenary sessions on U.S. only issues. conferences. In fact, it failed to garner even a majority of annual conference member votes, let alone the two-thirds needed to 3. This proposal sets up a whole new level of bureaucracy. This ratify the proposal. The idea was tried again in 2016, but was bureaucracy would exist between the jurisdictional conference defeated in legislative committee. The same arguments that were and the General Conference. It would include a regional “judi- persuasive in defeating this Regional Conference idea in the past cial court” to decide questions of church law arising from the re- still apply. gion. The proposed legislation also gives the regional conference the authority to “establish such other agencies, commissions, 1. There is no clarity on which parts of the Book of Discipline or committees as it may determine are important to the work can be “changed or adapted.” Paragraph 101 of the Discipline and witness of the Church in the United States.” At a time when lists the parts that cannot be adapted, including the doctrinal we are cutting the general church budget by 20 percent and ap- standards and the Social Principles, covering paragraphs 1-166. portionment payments are drastically declining, why would we The Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters was create an expensive new bureaucratic structure in the church? It supposed to come back to the 2020 General Conference with a has the potential of siphoning funds from the global church and proposal as to which of the remaining paragraphs (paragraphs from the mission and ministry of the church. 201-2719) could be adapted. They have wisely decided, in light of the deep conflict in the church and the possibility of separation, 4. Many central conference delegates do not favor this pro- that they will delay their defining proposal until 2024. posal. In 2008, the annual conferences outside the U.S. – par- ticularly in Africa – voted almost unanimously against this idea. That means under the current Discipline everything after Para- While this proposal is being portrayed as coming from the cen- graph 166 can be adapted or changed by a central or regional tral conferences, delegates from Africa whom I have talked to conference. The adaptable section would cover over 80 percent of do not support it. They have told me they wonder why, now that the Discipline, including matters related to ordination, marriage, delegates from outside the U.S. are approaching a majority of and sexual ethics. Under this Regional Conference proposal, al- the church, the U.S. wants to cut itself off from the global voice. most any part of the “operation, governance, witness, and minis- For 50 years, while global delegates were a small minority of the try” of the church (in the words of the relevant petition) could be General Conference, the U.S. was content to set policies and pro- changed or adapted by U.S. delegates for U.S. churches. cedures for the whole church, with a very limited right of adap- tation given to acknowledge the differences in legal structures What was originally being sold as a way to handle a few spe- outside the U.S. But now, the U.S. does not want to be subject to cific issues now has the potential to further erode our connec- the voice of the global church and is proposing to allow itself to tion. Rather than continuing as a unified global church, we could “opt out” of the global policies and procedures at will. Such an evolve into a conglomeration of diverse national churches. approach does not feel to them either respectful or fair.

2. There is no evidence that this proposal will save money or The Renewal and Reform Coalition believes this proposal for a time of the General Conference. Proponents believe that, by U.S. Regional Conference does not merit resurrection. allowing U.S. delegates to deal with uniquely U.S. matters, sev- eral days could be cut from the ten-day General Conference, Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, vice president of Good News.

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JF20-CL.indd 41 6/16/21 10:46 AM ESSENTIAL MISSIONARY GOD

By Max A. Wilkins Paul and Barnabas and began a long, fruitful, multi-year en- God is a missionary God. From the gagement with missionaries sent out from their church. The moment of creation as told in Gen- missionaries from Antioch maintained a relationship with the esis, God makes his missionary church of accountability, support, encouragement, and resourc- nature known. With Jesus’ earthly ing. Many churches in North America today are becoming mission, God burst forth into cre- sending churches, or partnering with mission sending agencies ation showing his missional heart. to jointly send cross-cultural witnesses who maintain the same Jesus not only modeled a missional kinds of relationship with the church as witnessed in Acts 13. life, he also established the Church and called her to join him in his The Immigrant Relations Strategy. Located along some major mission. Thus, mission is the reason the church exists. And trade routes, ancient Palestine was a land of many immigrants from its inception, the church has always been on mission. As and foreigners. The early church often took advantage of this The United Methodist Church wrestles with what it looks like home-grown opportunity for cross-cultural engagement with to be the Church in 2020 and beyond, one thing is certain: we amazing results. In Acts 8, we read the story of Philip, an early will always be called to be missional. church missionary. Sent by God from Jerusalem toward Gaza, he wasn’t at all sure where he was going; only what he was do- While the call to join Jesus in his mission is universal, there are ing! Upon seeing a high official of the Ethiopian court, he knew multitudes of ways for the church to be on mission. And many his mission field. The ensuing engagement between Philip and of the models seen in the early church are still fruitful models the inquisitive foreigner resulted in new life for the Ethiopian, today. Let’s look at five missionary models of the early church. who immediately returned to Ethiopia and took the gospel with him! We see this pattern repeated throughout the New Testa- The Prayer Meeting Response. In his last instructions to his ment. Today, with a global immigrant population exceeding disciples before ascending to heaven, Jesus told them to go 250 million people, there has never been a better or more fruit- down to Jerusalem, get in a prayer meeting, get filled with the ful season for employing this missional strategy. Holy Spirit, and, under the power of the Holy Spirit, to become missionary witnesses. The church was born as a result of that The Mentor/Mentee Model. The Apostle Paul made several prayer meeting. And down through the ages many missionary fruitless trips to a backwater town called Lystra. On his third movements have been launched in a similar fashion. trip, however, he encountered Timothy, a young man of mixed heritage about whom the believers spoke highly. Discerning In the mid-1800s just such a prayer meeting took place among both the gifts the Holy Spirit had implanted in Timothy and a group of Methodists. The result was a mission movement to the missionary call of his life, Paul takes him on the road. In the West Africa. Though many of the members of that prayer meet- next few years Paul not only mentored Timothy and modeled ing died young on the mission field, the remaining members mission work for him, he also set Timothy on a course for an continued to go. As a result, the Methodist Church of Ghana adult life as a missionary. Paul would subsequently repeat this exists today, a church that saw over 55,000 new believers come model over and over again. to faith last year alone! There is power in the prayer meeting when the Holy Spirit shows up! Today, missionary sending agencies are finding their greatest mobilizing success when current missionaries are putting forth The Local Sending Church. Through the efforts of Paul, Barn- the call to young people and then mentoring and modeling mis- abas, and others, God grew a great church in Antioch of Syria. sion for them. And local churches that make a place for mis- It rapidly became a missional church. In 44 AD, the church sionaries to put forth the call to their congregation are a big part at worship felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to send forth of the success of this model. missionaries into Asia Minor (see Acts 13). They laid hands on

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JF20-CL.indd 42 6/16/21 10:46 AM Ghoussoon and her children are featured in the film Salam Neighbor. They are refugees from Syria. Photo: Mohab Khattab.

The Persecution/Dislocation Model. Jesus called his disciples their fellow refugees, in mission. It is also incredibly fruitful to be his witnesses not only in Jerusalem but to the ends of the when churches in North America partner with refugee believ- earth. Sadly, in the earliest days of the church, the disciples ers in their midst, and resource, encourage, and empower them found it more comfortable and convenient to remain in Jerusa- for mission. lem. Then persecution broke out against the church. Suddenly, in response to the persecution, the believers were displaced and According to Acts, in the early church the Lord was adding to scattered all over the Roman world. The result was missionary their numbers daily those who were embracing the gospel of work to the ends of the earth! Jesus Christ. The mission continues today. And, perhaps by em- bracing some of the missional strategies we see modeled in the No one likes persecution. We pray for the persecuted church. early church, we will also see the kingdom fruit experienced by But the reality is that God can also redeem persecution. Indeed, the early church. May it be so. though many of the current global displacement challenges have resulted in the uprooting of centuries old Christian com- Max Wilkins serves as President and CEO of TMS Global. He munities around the globe, it has also afforded these refugees previously pastored churches in Florida and Hawaii for 30 incredible platforms for engaging both their host countries, and years.

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JF20-CL.indd 43 6/16/21 10:46 AM ESSENTIAL

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE...

By B.J. Funk the unfortunate introduction of too much cursing, unnecessary Wouldn’t it be nice if kindness made fi ghting, and relentless screaming coming through the air waves. a comeback? Wouldn’t it be nice if we Some of our children, left alone without parental oversight, sit in weren’t afraid to send our children to the area Mr. Rogers called Holy and receive a far too early look school, to go shopping at the mall, or into the raw and deviant side of humanity. Forgive us, Lord. to go without fear into a movie the- ater? Wouldn’t it be nice if church Mr. Rogers saw the potential for holiness in every experience were a safe place to be, if sidewalks through the power of the Holy Spirit. He brought the medium weren’t dangerous, and if Andy and of kindness and acceptance as the doorway into faith and holy Barney could walk the streets of our living. He invited the children to be his neighbor, to sit with him town without a gun? during his show as they joined hands in neighborly love.

Wouldn’t it be nice to go back many years ago and have Fred Some have named him a televangelist to toddlers. He would Rogers on television again, speaking kindness, love and accep- likely have been uncomfortable with that thought, but that is ex- tance to our children through his show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighbor- actly what he was doing. If our gospel is the gospel of grace, then hood? Th e show ran on PBS for over thirty-fi ve years. He taped Fred Rogers was seeking to off er the Good News of grace daily more than 900 programs, winning four Emmys for his slow- through his show. moving, slow-talking visits with the children in his television audience. His central message to them was “You are loved just Faith was so much a part of who he was, as it should be for each the way you are.” of us. His faith moved through his being in simple, yet powerful ways. Having faith was part of his makeup. It aff ected him in He sat before the camera and gave children what they needed every moment. every day, large doses of kindness with a huge amount of love. Without knowing his audience individually, he approached the If you haven’t thought about Fred Rogers lately, now would be a children with a voice that said, “Come on in to my neighbor- good time to renew your friendship with this soft -spoken man hood. You are always welcomed here.” And the children knew through the recent release of a movie about his life. Tom Hanks they were. stars as Mr. Rogers in a delightful walk back to the years of his show, 1962-2001. Or you can read Shea Tuttle’s book, Exactly as Mr. Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister who kept his You Are: Th e Life and Faith of Mister Rogers. status with the church current by appearing regularly before church elders. But his calling was to bless children by teaching Practicing kindness has a profound eff ect on our own mental his central message of God’s love for all creation. He once said and physiological health. Being kind helps us to become happier that his ministry was the “broadcasting of grace” throughout the and more compassionate towards others. Being kind can help land, and his vocation was to minister to children through the boost our own immune system, slow down aging, elevate our medium of television. Before taping each of those 900 programs, self-esteem and improve blood pressure. Rogers off ered this simple prayer: “Let some word that is heard be thine.” “Kindness makes a person attractive. If you could win the world, melt it, do not hammer it,” wrote Alexander MacClaren, an Eng- He had a name for the space between the viewer and the televi- lish minister born in the nineteenth century. sion set. He called that space, “Holy Ground.” Th at’s a beautiful picture for us in 2020. Unfortunately, that space is for some of So, let’s see if we can do our part for kindness to make a come- our children not Holy Ground but instead a breeding ground for back. It’s worth a try. And, by the way, will you be my neighbor?

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JF20-CL.indd 45 6/16/21 10:46 AM “Because Rob is a pastor who shares intimately with people every day, he knows the common issues that plague us, and he is able to speak a healing, redemptive word. In this book, he does that with confidence and conviction.” Maxie Dunnam FORMER PRESIDENT OF ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

ROB RENFROE

UNFAILING

Standing Strong on God’s Promises in the Uncertainties of Life

The new book from Rob Renfroe In Unfailing, pastor and teacher Rob Renfroe unpacks seven “If you are struggling for more certainty, key ways in which God will not fail you, looking at God’s God’s promises are the source. In Unfailing, promises, grace, peace, presence, guidance, power, strength, Rob Renfroe effectively unpacks the boundless and love. Each of these is an important and essential aspect promises of God to help build a substantial of God’s trustworthy and unfailing character, reflecting his foundation for our lives. This book will help!” faithfulness to you. Each chapter includes a sample prayer, as well as personal reflection questions that help you to Craig Springer further apply these truths to your life. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALPHA USA PERFECT FOR: • Personal reading and reflection • Small groups • Sunday school

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